Funding deal will help provide hundreds of new homes across central Scotland

Briar Homes has become one of the first housebuilders to be supported by a growth initiative that will lead to the construction of hundreds of much-needed properties.

The Glasgow-based firm is being supported by Housing Growth Partnership’s (HGP) regional growth initiative (RGI), which forms part of HGP’s newly created £300 million property fund.

The RGI is a four-year commitment that will see HGP investing up to £10m of equity alongside Briar, targeting new sites for family housing in locations across central Scotland, with particular focus on Glasgow and the surrounding commuter belt.

Since 2016, HGP has provided Briar with equity investment of £3.6m across two development schemes, delivering more than 100 units and assisting with the housebuilder’s growth plans. With the implementation of the RGI partnership, HGP aims to support the development of up to a further eight sites and in excess of 400 new homes.

Scott Sanderson, HGP; Ian McGarvey, Briar Homes; Ross Baird, HGP; Paul Kelly, Briar Homes and Collin Bennet, HGP. Picture: Chris Watt Photography

Paul Kelly, managing director of Briar Homes, said: “The support we have received by working in partnership with HGP over the past four years is key to our continued growth.

“We are delighted to be signing up as their first ‘regional growth initiative’ partner in Scotland, with an initial £10m funding commitment over the next four years. This allows us to focus on building high quality, architect-designed homes in sought after locations.

“The funding partnership is vital to our aim of creating new homes to exacting standards.”

The first development funded through the RGI involves 35 homes at Barrhead, Glasgow.

Colin Bennett, HGP investment director for Scotland, added: “We are delighted to support regional housebuilders like Briar Homes, which have the ambition to provide much-needed new homes and also to give those searching for a new property more options beyond a market dominated so heavily by PLC housebuilders.

“Our relationship with Briar goes back some years in fact. Being part of the AS Group, a family owned and operated business, we first invested alongside AS Homes in 2016 supporting its entry back into the private development market and they created an incredible location at Broomhouse.”

Over the past three years the numbers of homes constructed across Scotland has fallen short of the estimated 25,000 new homes needed per annum.

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