Daily News: 22/05/2025
Gentoo Group has announced a £44m investment to improve over 4,000 homes in Sunderland during 2025/26, marking one of the largest housing upgrade programmes in the city. Gentoo Group Ltd.
S&P Global Ratings has revised its outlook on Karbon Homes Ltd. from positive to stable while affirming its ‘A’ long-term issuer credit rating and the ‘A’ issue rating on the group’s £250m bond. S&P Global
The Housing Ombudsman has published a special investigation into Hackney Council, urging it to avoid viewing performance through a “positivity prism” and instead focus on identifying root causes to improve services for residents. Meanwhile, complaints to Lincoln City Council have reached a five-year high, with housing issues accounting for the largest increase. Housing Ombudsman Service, BBC
For-profit Registered Providers now own about 43,100 affordable homes, with projections to exceed 150,000 by 2030, showing strong private equity growth in the sector. Savills
Kirklees Council has reopened its £154m dynamic purchasing system for housing repairs and maintenance. Mears Facilities Management secured all three lots on the ESPO Total Facilities Management framework. BRE, contracted by DESNZ, will update the Home Energy Model and Standard Assessment Procedure to support the Future Homes Standard. North Lanarkshire Council is investing £3.3m to modernise lifts in five Motherwell tower blocks, with ADL Lift Services completing the final phase. Construction News (register), Mears Group, BRE Group, and Scottish Housing News
Muse, in partnership with Manchester City Council and Wythenshawe Community Housing Group, has signed a collaboration agreement to deliver the first phases of new homes as part of the £500m Wythenshawe regeneration programme. Muse
Homes England’s chief executive has called on the government to speed up slow Building Safety Regulator gateway 2 approvals, which are delaying housing delivery. Additionally, a Supreme Court ruling lets Barratt’s BDW Trading sue designers and contractors over legacy building defects, even for buildings no longer owned. Housing Today (register), Construction Enquirer
The Great British Insulation Scheme has installed 76,900 insulation measures in 60,600 households across the UK as of March 2025, boosting home energy efficiency. GOV.UK
Build to Rent homes rose from under 1,000 in 2004 to nearly 90,000 in 2024, now 14% of new homes, helping ease housing shortages. The ECITB warns engineering construction worker demand will peak by 2030, posing workforce challenges. Centre for Cities, PBC Today
Edinburgh approved 168 homes at the former Caledonian Brewery site, while Greenwich may soon greenlight 500 homes near the Thames Barrier after long delays. Glasgow and Rutherglen have a £500m plan including 450 homes and a hotel. Nottinghamshire locals worry about traffic and sewage from a proposed 300-home development. Fife plans 180+ homes and a school move in Aberdour, and Wiltshire’s NHS warns a 150-home plan could strain healthcare services. Scottish Housing News, The Greenwich Wire, BBC, Nottinghamshire Live, Dunfermline Press, and Wiltshire Times