Independent regional homebuilder Autograph Homes has officially launched with two new development sites in Bristol.
The new business, which is based in the Ashton area of the city, has started work on creating 41 new homes in Bristol with sites at Players Close in Hambrook and on Cheltenham Road in Bishopston.
Significant interest has already been shown by potential buyers at Players Close, with the show home due to open at the end of July.
To support the delivery of local housing, the Housing Growth Partnership (HGP) has invested £2.8 million into the projects alongside the shareholders of the business.
Autograph Homes is now actively seeking to identify and purchase other sites in the region and is working closely with a number of local land agents to this effect.
Paul Abson, chairman of Autograph Homes, said: “We are targeting our developments at homeowners looking for design and individuality and who are interested in the latest home technologies and energy solutions.
“There is a housing shortage across Bristol and the South West and buyers are becoming frustrated by a lack of choice and affordability in the places they want to live, forced to compromise to meet basic requirements of size, location and price.
“Autograph Homes will build homes with imagination and intelligence, with each property highly specified and thoughtfully designed. We integrate the latest technologies, and smarter, sustainable materials, to create homes fit for the future and more economical to own.”
Autograph Homes is located in the Durnford St offices of MD Group, a long-established affordable housing and public sector building services specialist, which provides Autograph Homes with administrative support.
HGP is a social impact investor backed by Lloyds Bank and the Homes & Communities Agency. Its investment has enabled Autograph Homes to start construction on the two schemes simultaneously.
The organisation aims to address housing affordability by providing support to the regional residential development community to increase the number of new homes built in the UK.
HGP’s investment director Andrew Fairley said the organisation had used a flexible approach, coupled with structuring expertise, to provide an optimum solution for Autograph Homes’ business needs.
He said: “HGP worked closely with the management team to drive the transaction to a tight deadline and provide essential funding to unlock the development sites. We are very pleased to be supporting Autograph Homes on both these projects.”
Mr Abson said: “The proactive way in which all parties approached this transaction has been excellent and I feel this bodes well for our future working relationship. It is unusual to be able to forge a strong partnership in such short timescales.”
