In another blow to the modular home industry, the closing of L&G’s modular factory could cause investors to have second thoughts about our industry. That would be a mistake.
Legal & General (L&G) is to close its modular housebuilding factory, in a move which will put 450 jobs at risk and cast doubts over the future of a supposedly pioneering sector.
Sources said the COVID-19 pandemic and planning delays had been major factors in the inability of the unit to deliver sufficient orders to become profitable.
Mariotti Building Products
Viking Carrier
PFS CorporationL&G established the modular housing arm seven years ago, building a factory with the capacity to construct 3,000 modular homes each year.
Although specific sales figures for the division are unclear, insiders said it had significantly underperformed expectations. It will complete existing orders to ensure delivery, they added.
The decision will be seen as a significant blow to a segment of the housing market which was supposed to make constructing homes cheaper and faster.
L&G had established the business as part of a self-proclaimed mission to make “housing fairer for all” during a period of intense scrutiny of the sector and government housebuilding targets.
Gary Fleisher is the Editor in Chief of Modular Home Source and Offsite Builder magazine. Email at modcoach@gmail.com
Gary Fleisher, the Modcoach
