NHBC, the UK’s leading new homes warranty and insurance provider, recently hosted the second annual Innovators - Affordable Housing event in partnership with the British Property Federation (BPF).
A continuation of NHBC’s popular Innovators series, this year’s event was called ‘Mind the gap – fund the future’ and saw property experts and affordable housing professionals gather to explore the sector landscape.
Held in central London, more than 120 representatives from housing associations, house builders, local authorities, developers and other major stakeholders were in attendance to learn about the latest developments in the sector, hear from industry leaders and network.
Topics explored included the rise of new city centre neighbourhoods, private capital Joint Ventures and partnerships, the unique development challenges faced by London and the impact of the recent Northern Powerhouse rail announcement, among many others.
The event was opened by keynote speaker Gareth Phipps-Williams, Assistant Director of Affordable Housing Programme Management at Homes England. He talked about the upcoming positive impact of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme and the importance of government and the wider industry working closely together. Further topics Mr Phipps-Williams touched upon included the multiple strategic partnerships Homes England is undertaking to accelerate house building around the country and funding routes available for registered providers and developers.
Presentation speakers included Marcus Dixon, Director of UK Residential Research at JLL; Kate Josephs, CEO at Sheffield City Council and Chair of Core Cities CEO Group; Richard White, Executive Director of Development at Southern Housing Group and Chair of the G15 Development Directors’ Group, and Ellie Vlavianou, Investment Director at Octopus Capital. Using case studies to illustrate examples of successful project management and innovative placemaking, the event’s speakers explored funding solutions, partnership models and viability.
Tim Reid, Customer Relationship Director at NHBC commented: “I’d like to thank everyone who helped make this year’s Innovators - Affordable Housing event such a success. 2025 proved a challenging year for the sector but 2026 looks more optimistic, with a new £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme, a National Housing Bank, low-interest loans and public and private capital working together. Affordable housing is, quite rightly, at the top of the political agenda and it’s fantastic to see progress on so many fronts – at the same time, what we heard was challenges remain, notably around viability, legislative challenges and certainty. NHBC can help by working in partnership with housing associations and local authorities with a focus on long-term asset protection, helping them build right first time, ensuring as housing numbers gear up, quality is maintained.”
Danny Pinder, Director of Policy at the British Property Federation commented: “This year’s Innovators – Affordable Housing event proved informative and struck a welcome upbeat tone to kick off the year. We were fortunate to attract some of the most recognisable names in the industry to present and welcomed delegates from around the country. Last year was a challenging one for the sector with uncertainty across many fronts, but most fundamentally as a result of constrained viability. As we move into 2026, we have greater certainty - a roadmap for the Renters’ Rights Act, the prospectus for the new ten-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme and clarity on social rent convergence expected shortly. While viability remains an acute challenge for the sector, strong collaboration between government and the affordable housing sector; housing affordability remaining high on the political agenda and the imminent rollout of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme, all suggest reasons to be cautiously optimistic for the year ahead.”
