Analysis

August 15, 2019

This is the "Uber moment" for housebuilding

Faced with a housing crisis and a construction skills shortage the UK is becoming a testbed for building modular houses in smart factories.


The UK is turning into an ideal testbed for new methods of building. Not only is the country facing a housing crisis, but the construction industry is heavily reliant on EU labour that looks set to feel the squeeze post-Brexit. No wonder, then, that investors are putting substantial sums into companies that aim to create modular houses in factories that can subsequently be assembled on-site, like Lego bricks, using minimal labour.

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Pre-manufactured units slot together at Berkley modular
Modules made in the Berkley Modular factory slot together to make a house.
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Modular home in an Urban Splash factory
A modular home in Urban Splash's factory
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