London airspace property developer Apex Housing hits new heights with £6.25m investment from the Business Growth Fund
Apex Housing, a business which creates flats above London's rooftops, has today nabbed a £6.25m investment from the Business Growth Fund (BGF).
Founded in 2008, Apex purchases unused "airspace" above residential, commercial and public building rooftops and converts the space into homes.
It uses modular construction methods to build the properties in an offsite factory before installing them on top of buildings. Developments have already been completed in St John’s Wood and Camden, and more than 100 homes are currently in progress.
"Following the success of our existing airspace developments, we’re excited to be able to build on our relationships with local authorities and meet the growing demand for affordable housing," said Apex's chief executive Arshad Bhatti.
"BGF’s investment will enable us to unlock the value in London’s rooftops and we’re looking forward to consolidating our position as market leader in this sector, and growing our temporary accommodation offering to London’s councils."
Apex will use BGF’s funding to carry out its plans to develop 300 to 400 properties over the next three years. It has said that "many" of the properties are expected to be available through the government’s Help to Buy scheme, with property prices starting at around £350,000.
The firm estimates that the capital's rooftop development market could be worth up to £54bn, and believes there is the potential to build 180,000 properties on London's rooftops alone.
Apex has built relationships with local authorities and private property investors, and its housing solutions division (separate from the airspace development branch) provides emergency temporary accommodation to 18 of London’s 33 councils.
BGF has backed a number of property companies in the past including Anstey Horne, SDL Group, Campion Homes and Horbury Group.