The SME accelerator loan is designed to help Small- and Medium-Enterprise (SME) housebuilding companies to build homes more quickly
The Yorkshire Homes accelerator loan is worth £3.38m, and has been given to the family-run business to develop a Thirsk scheme of 21 affordable and open market homes.
The loan will help the company to secure the land for the development, and was awarded via the Homes England Home Building Fund.
The accelerator loan is a new type of loan
Designed specifically for SME construction companies, the accelerator loan provides money for development as well as a second loan for land acquisition. At a time where construction companies are most vulnerable to falling into administration, this provides relief and the opportunity for businesses to grow.
Zach Cribb, director at Yorkshire Homes, said: “The Accelerator Loan is a game changer for SME housebuilders like us. Currently, limited market funding options force SMEs to work site by site, completing one project before starting another. This new financial flexibility will enable us to secure land ahead of time, creating a consistent pipeline of development rather than stop-start projects.”
Simon Century, chief investments officer at Homes England, said: “Small and medium sized housebuilders are absolutely crucial to the government’s mission to build 1.5 million homes in this parliament.
“The SME Accelerator Loan has been designed to provide the certainty and flexibility that SMEs need to grow their housebuilding activity and contribute to achieving that target.
“This loan to Yorkshire Homes is one example of Homes England’s commitment to supporting those developers with ambitions to grow their development pipelines and it’s fantastic to see a family-run business being given the support to do so.”
Homes England’s 2026 strategy seek to boost housebuilding
In December, Homes England announced their new strategy for 2025-2030, with six key objectives to create new collaborations with the agency as well as directly accelerate the creation of new and sustainable homes.
The six objectives in the strategy are:
- Significantly increase new housing supply and accelerate housing delivery across all tenures.
- Deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable homes in a generation.
- Unlock new institutional investment for housing and mixed-use schemes and deliver financial returns.
- Collaborate with partners and local leaders to enable development and regeneration that boosts local economic growth.
- Foster innovation and create market conditions to support a dynamic, diverse, and sustainable built environment and housing sector.
- Ensure homes are safe, secure and decent, and residents are safeguarded.
Housing secretary, Steve Reed, said: “Homes England is playing a key role in building more new homes by bringing in essential private investment and supporting the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation. The launch of their new plan today kicks off a new phase of working together to invest in housebuilding at scale that will help us bring the housing crisis to an end.”
