Losses of volumetric housebuilder laid bare in accounts, which also show £28.9m loss in development
TopHat’s losses from its factory operations more than doubled in its penultimate year of trading, accounts published this week show.
The volumetric housebuilder, which also confirmed it ceased trading in November, has revealed the extent of its losses in the year to 31 October 2023.
TopHat Industries, responsible for running the firm’s factory operations, revealed a loss of £46.3m. This is up from £20.4m the previous year. This came off the back of losses of £18m and £21.3m in the preceding years.
The accounts said TopHat “traded at low levels” throughout the year.
It said: “This was a result of several factors, including a sluggish market for modular housing, the continuing energy crisis, heightened interest rates, rising raw material costs and limited consumer demand.”
The company admitted that the modular sector has “struggled with limited adoption and competition from traditional housebuilders.”
It said: “The commercial viability of the modular housing model, particularly at scale, has remained weak.”
The firm’s sister company, TopHat Communities, which ran its development operations, similarly saw an increase in its annual loss from £5.1m to £28.9m.
TopHat said it took the decision to begin winding down the company last year, and it ceased trading at the end of November 2024.
In November 2023, Homes England backed the volumetric housebuilder with a £15m loan to help it in its aim of ramping up production to 4,000 homes a year.
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