Emma Burke joins a distinguished panel to discuss Modular housing

Maslow Capital Deal Originator Emma Burke was pleased to provide her insight into funding Modular developments at a panel discussion hosted by Howard Kennedy LLP.

Whilst sharing her experience with the audience, Emma explained that she first came across modular construction when lending to developers building purpose-built student accommodation. Emma said from a lender’s perspective, the relatively new and unfamiliar processes of modular construction can be the biggest issue both in relation to the developer and also the modular contractor. She also highlighted that at present, there is no standardisation/uniformity between factories and this causes difficulties for security purposes -if a particular modular contractor went insolvent, there is no guarantee that another factory could produce the same order.

Adding to this Emma reiterated that lenders use the same metrics to assess a modular construction scheme as they would with any other development and that deliverability was a key factor. This would include assessing the developer’s professional team, including the modular contractor and reviewing their track history (which might include obtaining recommendations from past clients) to ensure that they can deliver.

A full write-up of the panel discussion is to be added to Howard Kennedy’s blog by the close of January.

Thank you to our hosts Howard Kennedy as well as the other distinguished guests that made up the experienced panel.