Joined-up thinking and new partnership models: Why we created the Future Homes Pavilion 

NHBC is a firm fixture at many of the major conferences in house building that take place every spring and summer.  

As the country’s leading provider of warranty and insurance for new homes, it would perhaps be rather strange if we weren’t.  

Chief among them is the UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF). 

This year, however, we teamed up with three other high-profile organisations to host a dedicated space at the event for discussions around innovation and investment across the living sector. 

Four backers, one goal 

The Futures Homes Pavilion served as a meeting point, bringing public and private partners together and helping to shape essential conversations about how everyone can play a role in increasing new home delivery. 

Organised jointly by the Future Homes Hub, NHBC, Barclays and Homes England, the packed-out Pavilion proved popular with delegates interested in subjects ranging from urban regeneration to modern methods of construction and the skills gap. 

But what motivated the host partners to arrange, schedule and promote this new attraction at UKREiiF, and why now? 

In everyone’s interest 

The political agenda is an ever-changing, turbulent beast, but housing is never far from it.  

For decades, successive governments have grappled with the challenge of increasing new home figures and satisfying rising demand amid all manner of financial pressures.  

Today, the topic remains a priority for both the current administration and opposition parties; whatever the fiscal persuasion or ideology, everyone has a view of what should be done to get Britain building.  

And with a new Prime Minister confirming his commitment to delivering new homes, the gauntlet has been well and truly thrown down to developers just as eager to build them. 

Almost everyone, then, agrees on one big point: we simply must build more quality homes at scale and speed. 

But as so many public bodies, local authorities, private businesses, third-sector organisations and contractors hold key stakes in this mission, the need for collaboration has never been greater. 

Nobody can go it alone 

Happily, there’s been plenty of evidence of such joint efforts over the last few years. 

Public-private initiatives such as the MADE Partnership – a £150m venture from Barratt Redrow plc, Homes England and Lloyds Banking Group with “the vision, skills, stamina and capital required to deliver large developments” – are bringing government departments, house builders and mortgage lenders together more closely. 

More recently, the £860m Impact&Places housing partnership between Homes England, Capital&Centric and Swiss Life Asset Managers has purchased land in Manchester as part of its drive to deliver 2,250 new homes in the UK. 

It’s arguably a sign of the times, as shifting demographics and consumer behaviours combine with new funding strategies to continually affect both the type of housing that is in demand and practically feasible. 

The Build to Rent sector, for example, has been attracting significantly higher investment volumes as a result of such lifestyle changes.  

Research by Savills proved 2025 to be a record year, with £2.7bn invested in UK Build to Rent in Q4 alone – the highest single-quarter figure ever, with more capital poured in than the full-year totals of 2016, 2018 and 2019. 

More to come? 

Yet even as the housing landscape evolves, untapped opportunities remain – and it’s clear that further public-private partnerships (PPPs) could be among them. 

A separate piece of Savills analysis found that while 24.88% of homes in the development pipeline are through partnerships involving a housing association or a public sector body, this form of delivery is heavily weighted to large schemes.  

In fact, almost half (47.92%) of PPPs relate to projects for 2,000 or more new homes, while only 22.31% are for those creating 500 or fewer.  

With the analysis also suggesting that 6% of all UK land is publicly owned by the likes of the Ministry of Defence or Defra – rising to 14% in major urban areas and as much as 25% within the Greater London Authority catchment – could further public-private partnership investment in smaller-scale schemes help address the imbalance? 

A fresh start for fresh ideas 

Regardless of when, where and how we build the homes Britain needs, it’s going to take extensive collaboration. 

Even the simplest, most straightforward project requires close relationships between developers, local authorities and investors, after all. 

UKREiiF is always a thriving, lively melting pot, packed with influential people at the coalface of house building from across the public, private and third sectors.  

What better place to make space for them to openly discuss the challenges they each face and better understand outside perspectives? 

The Future Homes Pavilion did exactly that this year – and the new relationships, ideas and connections it has formed could help shape housing delivery for decades to come.