European investment firm Terra Firma has merged two UK housebuilder brands – Hopkins Homes and Tilia Homes under the new company ‘untypical’.
The merger comes after Terra Firma founder Guy Hands acquired Tilia Homes from Kier in 2021, claiming the housebuilder “had been sitting within a larger corporation as a non-core asset.”
Then in 2022, the investment firm completed its acquisition of Hopkins Homes from founder James Hopkins, which is the largest privately-owned housebuilder in East Anglia.
In its latest financial statement, Tilia Homes reported a 40.9 per cent decrease in revenue for the nine months ended 31 March 2023 to 46,162 from 78,124 in 2022.
Meanwhile, Hopkins Homes reported a 41.5 per cent drop in revenue over the same period with £143,631 compared to £245,394 in 2022.
This resulted in Tilia generating pre-tax a loss of 11,523 deepening a loss of 9,278 in 2022, while Hopkins reported pre-tax profits fell from £40,938 to £15,880.
Owned by the Hands Family Office, the newly formed ‘untypical’ aims to be the UK’s most customer-centric housebuilder, by providing greater access to affordable homes for buyers.
The housebuilder is working to deliver more than 2,000 homes per year, with plans to grow further over the longer term.
Tilia Homes and Hopkins Homes will continue as the customer-facing brands.
This aims to enable untypical to dual brand appropriate sites and provide a range of homes from entry-level to premium properties across four regions in England: the Midlands, the West, the East and East Anglia.
untypical is also pledging to build homes which are sustainable and better for the planet, with Hopkins Homes having already become the first UK housebuilder to offer customers a ten-year Zero Bills guarantee.
Meanwhile, Tilia Homes secured a £125 million sustainability-linked loan with HSBC UK and Homes England.
Terra Firma founder Guy Hands said: “As an investor in the UK housing market since 1996, it is clear the traditional industry model is unable to meet the wants and needs of the modern homebuyer.
“By building homes based on robust customer insight, we see an opportunity to do things better and bring about positive change. The launch of untypical is just the starting point on our journey, but we believe that it has the potential to be transformative – not just for our business but for the whole housebuilding industry.”
Chris Severson, Chairman of untypical, added: “By combining the strengths of the Hopkins Homes and Tilia Homes brands, we will design and build the homes that people really want and are also good for the planet.
“untypical’s growth will be underpinned by deep technical expertise, a strong, supportive shareholder and driven by a team of industry leaders.
“With a focus on affordability, sustainable materials and long-term community building, our untypical approach will aim to not just meet expectations, but push boundaries and redefine industry standards.”
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