Legal & General Capital (LGC) has announced the launch of its modular housing business, Legal & General Homes, which aims to modernise the home building industry. It says it will provide modern, precision-engineered factory manufactured houses through its new factory in the North of England.

It is investing in what it claims will be the largest modular homes construction factory in the world in Leeds. Initially employing 400 to 500 local people, it expects to deliver its first houses from the factory in June.

Paul Stanworth, managing director of Legal & General Capital, said: “Sustainable, durable modern materials and proven technology will enable us to create high-quality homes meeting a wide range of housing needs and help solve the UK’s housing crisis. Modern modular housing in the UK has so far been restricted to the top end of the market: the scale of our Sherburn facility will enable many more people to benefit from new, environmentally-friendly construction techniques which have already become mainstream in Europe.”

The factory intends to produce high quality homes, ranging from 20-storey apartment blocks to rows of terraced, semi-detached and detached houses. The technology is popular across Europe, including countries such as Austria, Germany and Scandinavia where off-site manufacturing of housing is increasingly common. Time spent building on site will be reduced by more than 70%, compared to traditional techniques, manufacturing sections in advance and delivering them to the site to be installed.

Tom Ground, chief executive of Legal & General Homes, added: ”Legal & General Homes aims to deliver a new solution to the problems we face in the UK, addressing the shortage of suitable, affordable and sustainable housing by manufacturing higher quality, energy efficient, lower cost housing.”