Aviva invests £20 million into low carbon housing manufacturer TopHat Construction
Aviva’s capital unit, Aviva Capital Partners is investing £20 million into TopHat, a manufacturer of low carbon modular homes through Modern Methods of Construction.
This new equity funding will support development of TopHat’s new factory in Corby, which the company says will create up to 1,000 new jobs. The factory, anticipated to operate from summer 2024, will be capable of manufacturing up to 4,000 ultra-low carbon homes a year and will become Europe’s largest modular housing factory.
The construction process of a TopHat home the company says emits only 12% of the carbon compared to building a traditional home of the same size. The use of air source heat pumps and high specification insulation ensures the houses are low-carbon, energy efficient and become affordable homes to run.
In 2025, compliance with the UK Government’s Future Homes Standard will become mandatory. This aims to ensure that new homes built from 2025 will produce 75-80% less carbon emissions than homes built under the current Building Regulations. Reducing the UK housing stock’s operational emissions is also vital for the UK is to meet its legally binding net-zero targets. Energy use in homes currently makes up 22 percent of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions – more than double the amount from agriculture, and nearly as much as all transport emissions.
John Cummins, Chief executive officeir, Aviva Capital Partners, said:
“Aviva is using its financial strength to invest in the sustainable infrastructure and real estate which are central to the UK’s net zero transition. TopHat is a pioneer of low-carbon homes and this investment will make sustainable housing more widely available, making a difference to communities and providing a retirement income for our customers.”
Jordan Rosenhaus, Chief executive officer and founder at TopHat, added:
“Today’s announcement is testament to the innovative approach that TopHat continues to take to house- building and marks a step-change for the future of housing. It has been clear for some time that designing and building green, beautiful homes in factories is a critical part of solving the housing crisis – and today’s announcement will enable TopHat to reach the scale where the new generation of modular homes can be made available to everyone.”
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