A free course for smaller housing developers aims to fill gaps in their expertise and help them build more homes
If the UK wants to solve its housing crisis, more must be done to enable small housebuilders and developers to build.
That is the message online lending business LendInvest is sending as it invites applications for its Property Development Academy. This free two-day course in November will cover the entire development process from finding a site to getting it built and marketing it.
Aspiring developers will learn through case studies and group work led by industry experts. Although the course itself only lasts two days, students will have access to an online database of reading, tutorials and videos that go into more depth on topics ranging from putting together a team to understanding section 106.
Ian Thomas, co-founder of LendInvest, says the idea is to give small housebuilders, those that might go on to develop between 10 and 50 buildings a year, a chance to fill the gaps in their understanding of the business.
“Historically, a lot of the houses in the UK have been built by smaller-scale builders,” he says. “It has become harder and harder for developers to establish themselves and get going, and part of that has been a lack of knowledge of the various different aspects of development, from planning to conveyance to construction and obtaining finance.”
The number of low-volume housebuilders fell by 80% between 1988 and 2014, while demand for houses has risen to 300,000 a year – 130,000 more than were built in the UK in 2015. Meanwhile, the nine biggest housebuilders are holding on to more than 600,000 housing plots that have yet to be developed.
Small housebuilders find it harder to compete because, as a National House Building Council Foundation study showed in 2014, 14% of small developers say the cost and availability of land is a “major challenge”. LendInvest itself says that a quarter of applications it receives for development finance are denied because it does not believe the borrower has enough understanding of the market.
Thomas says those discrepancies need to be addressed by equipping small housebuilders to contribute to meeting an ever-growing need in the UK.
Applicants to the Property Development Academy do not need any specific experience but do need to demonstrate a “strong interest” in property and becoming a developer. Part of the goal, Thomas says, is to bring together people from diverse backgrounds who can not only learn from the experts but from each other.
The first LendInvest Property Development Academy course will be held on 11-12 November in London. Applications will close on 24 October. Other courses are expected to be announced in London and then in the regions. https://developmentacademy.lendinvest.com
