TopHat to make 200 factory staff redundant
Modular housing developer TopHat is making all of the staff in its 125,000 sq ft factory near Derby redundant due to the “continued reduction in its pipeline”.
The Goldman Sachs-backed firm employs 210 people in its factory, 200 of whom it plans to make redundant, EG understands.
TopHat said it was winding down business due to “the challenging market environment over the past several years”.
Modular housing developer TopHat is making all of the staff in its 125,000 sq ft factory near Derby redundant due to the “continued reduction in its pipeline”.
The Goldman Sachs-backed firm employs 210 people in its factory, 200 of whom it plans to make redundant, EG understands.
TopHat said it was winding down business due to “the challenging market environment over the past several years”.
According to the latest accounts filed with Companies House, in the year ending 30 October 2022 TopHat Industries’ pretax loss grew by 4.6% year-on-year to £20.4m.
At the time, the company said the increased loss was the result of continued investment in future growth. It added that its investment was “a key strategic initiative to deliver the future business plan” and that its 2022 financial period was a “strong year” for the business.
Plans to open a new factory in the same year in Corby, Northamptonshire, which would have been capable of producing 4,000 homes a year, did not progress.
TopHat managing director Andrew Shepherd left the business in April 2024, after the modular developer said it was “scaling back” and “restructuring” the company.
A spokesperson for TopHat, said: “In response to the challenging market environment over the last several years, TopHat has been gradually reducing its workforce. Unfortunately, due to the continued reduction in future pipeline, TopHat is in the process of making most of the factory staff redundant by following a statutory consultation process. These changes will occur following the completion of current factory orders to ensure work for TopHat customers is completed.
“This orderly wind-down of volumetric operations will put the business in a position to assess all future options. It is our strong belief that there is a continued need for category 1 and category 2 modular in the UK and we hope that we can capitalise on this in the future.”
Category 1 modular companies such as ilke Homes, L&G modular and House by Urban Splash, a joint venture between developer Urban Splash, Japanese house builder Sekisui House and Homes England, have previously failed in the UK.
