,

Specifiers call for education, quality and clarity in MMC adoption

At this year’s Specifier Summit 2025, hosted by BCM Agency, one theme resonated across every discussion: the appetite for innovation and MMC is strong, but confidence and understanding still lag behind.

When asked which area will benefit most from MMC over the next five years, almost half (44%) of respondents chose improved build quality and consistency, far outweighing benefits such as faster delivery (20%) or reduced embodied carbon (20%).

This marks a shift in tone from earlier debates that focused primarily on speed and sustainability. Specifiers appear to be re-framing MMC as a quality and assurance driver, not just an efficiency mechanism.

“We’re seeing MMC mature,” said one delegate. “It’s less about speed for speed’s sake, and more about predictability, precision, and long-term building performance.”

That perspective aligns with broader industry sentiment. As procurement frameworks evolve and digital design integration improves, specifiers are looking for certainty and repeatability; MMC’s unique advantage in an industry long challenged by inconsistency and cost overrun.

The second poll question tackled the issue of adoption: What is the single biggest barrier you face when specifying MMC or innovative materials?

A striking 65% cited limited client awareness and demand as the number one blocker. Cost and financing models followed at 24%, while only 6% pointed to supply chain readiness or skills shortages.

The supply chain is increasingly ready, but end clients and developers remain cautious, often lacking clear examples, data or reassurance on long-term ROI. For marketing and specification professionals, this presents a crucial task for 2026 and beyond: educating clients through evidence, case studies and clear value narratives.

As BCM’s managing director commented at the event, “Innovation doesn’t sell itself. The onus is on manufacturers, specifiers and marketers to tell a joined-up story – one that bridges technical innovation with client confidence.”When asked which type of material innovation is most critical for the future of construction, modular and prefabricated systems topped the list at 42%, followed by advanced insulation and building envelope solutions at 33%.

Interestingly, only 8% chose low-carbon cement alternatives and 0% selected smart or connected materials, suggesting that MMC’s near-term innovation is still grounded in physical assembly, not digital or chemical transformation.

This reinforces a trend we’ve observed across multiple client sectors: innovation with immediate practical application is winning mindshare. Specifiers want systems that solve problems today (from labour shortages to on-site waste) even as the sector builds toward deeper material decarbonisation.

Taken together, these results highlight a clear communications gap between the innovation happening inside the sector and the understanding held by clients and decision-makers outside it.

This is where marketing and specification intersect. The brands that will lead the next phase of MMC adoption are those who:

  • Educate through clarity, not complexity
  • Prove performance, not just promise innovation
  • Collaborate across the value chain, uniting manufacturers, specifiers and developers in shared outcomes

At BCM Agency, our work with leading construction brands shows the growing value of insight-led marketing, using research like this to craft messages that resonate, reassure and ultimately convert specification into adoption.

The 2025 Specifier Summit results reveal a maturing marketplace: one focused on reliability, capability and client understanding. For innovators in MMC and materials, that means the next frontier isn’t the factory floor, it’s the narrative.

Those who control the story will control the specification.

Source: PBC Today

/0 Comments/by
,

Homes England commits to further MMC funding

Homes England has committed to providing more cash to get the construction industry to adopt modern methods of construction (MMC), despite its recent financial losses in the sector.

On Thursday (11 December), the quango published its new strategic plan and investment strategy covering the next five years, outlining details of how it will channel subsidies for housing and infrastructure through the new National Housing Bank (NHB) announced by the government earlier this year.

It said that the NHB, which will allocate most Homes England funding, would begin operations from April 2026, subject to Treasury approval.

In a section on innovation, the strategy said that some of the cash will be directed towards MMC to help tackle low productivity and skills shortages in the construction sector.

It said: “…the built environment sector still faces entrenched barriers: low productivity; skills shortages; a lack of diversity among developers; inefficient methods of construction; and under-investment in innovative and sustainable building practices.

“We recognise that we have a role to play in working with partners to address these barriers. As such, we will use our investment, programmes and partnerships to accelerate innovation; diversify the market; promote sustainability; and drive the adoption of both modern methods of construction and emerging technologies across the housing and regeneration sector.”

In recent years, Homes England has incurred significant financial losses on some of its investments in MMC schemes, particularly from the collapse of several high-profile modular building companies.

However, the agency has defended these losses as an expected part of its role to innovate and take risks that the private market will not.

The most substantial recent loss came from the collapse of modular housebuilder Ilke Homes.

Homes England is set to lose most of the £68.7m it invested in the firm, with initial estimates suggesting a recovery of only £1m, later revised to a potential £4.3m, and most recently to just over £126,000.

In an April 2024 interview with Construction News, Homes England’s then-chief executive Peter Denton defended the investment, saying: “We lost £60m. I don’t enjoy that, but we took a risk in the full knowledge that there was a risk of loss.”

The housing agency also lost £3m of £27m invested into House by Urban Splash, which collapsed in 2022, and is also owed £9.2m by a subsidiary of Stewart Milne Group.

In 2024, a House of Lords committee report criticised the government’s investment in MMC as “undirected and nonstrategic”.

The committee’s chair, Lord Moylan, said he was “unpersuaded that Homes England knew what it was doing” when investing in Ilke Homes and Urban Splash, saying that the criticism was not for losing money, but for a perceived lack of due diligence and strategy.

Elsewhere, the Homes England strategy document said that the NHB’s remit will allow it to “partner with long-term investors and parts of the housing and regeneration sector that have traditionally been underserved or have experienced challenges, including SMEs and partners delivering complex large-scale mixed-use regeneration schemes.”

Source: Construction News

/0 Comments/by
,

How MMC is shaping regeneration

Successful regeneration stories run on ambition and partnership – two themes that should filter straight through from the masterplan to the project level, write Angela Mansell and Darren Perkins.

The use of modern methods of construction shows how embracing innovation and putting transparency at the heart of partnership can ensure those ambitions become reality.

This is evidenced by Oak Construction Projects and Mansell Building Solutions’ work delivering the £10m Bosden at Stopford Park in Stockport.

The project from developer Cityheart demonstrates how early engagement and collaborative working can transform outcomes – delivering certainty, speed, and quality in an industry often challenged by risk and complexity.

Bosden at Stopford Park is a six-storey block of 62 apartments and is part of Cityheart’s wider vision for the site, which also includes the delivery of residential blocks Torkington and Lyme, and the Cheers & Smith workspace building.

Stopford Park itself sits within Stockport’s £1bn Town Centre West masterplan, led by Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation.

For Bosden at Stopford Park, Mansell was appointed by Oak as specialist MMC contractor, delivering off-site panelised light gauge steel frames and internal finishes. Manufacturing began in summer 2025 at Mansell’s Chadderton factory, with erection starting in July.

Bosden at Stopford Park demonstrates how modern methods of construction deliver tangible benefits when paired with strong partnerships.

In this example, prefabrication at Mansell’s Factory enabled a 15% faster timeline, fewer weather delays, and reduced onsite labour compared to traditional concrete builds.

The frame programme, initially scheduled for 80 days by Mansell, was completed in 70 – accelerating follow-on trades for Oak and providing programme certainty.

For Oak, this meant a predictable programme, fewer onsite issues, and peace of mind – a stark contrast to the uncertainty that often plagues conventional construction.

By involving Mansell’s in-house design manager, Courtney McLoughlin (a RIBA-qualified architect), at an early stage, the project benefited from proactive design input and open cost advice. This ensured buildability and compliance were locked in before a single panel left Mansell’s factory.

The transparent approach also extended to the tendering process, providing cost certainty for the client. Both teams worked in partnership to maintain exit costs in line with entry costs, with full transparency at every stage of delivery.

Both teams attended detailed frame, dry-lining, and fire-stopping design meetings, to ensure everyone was aligned and satisfied with the outcome. As mentioned earlier, this early collaboration paid off at Bosden at Stopford Park: the frame programme was bettered by 10-days, enabling other trades to start sooner.

Transparency throughout each stage not only delivers cost and build certainty but also fosters stronger relationships and trust between main contractors and specialist contractors.

The success at Bosden at Stopford Park has paved the way for a new chapter. Oak and Mansell are now collaborating on Corner Plot in Rochdale for Rochdale Council.

Opposite Rochdale Railway Station, the new part six-storey, part three storey building would contain 33 apartments. The curved building, named ‘Corner Plot’, would have four commercial units on the ground floor alongside a foyer for residents. This scheme combines new-build elements with the sensitive refurbishment of a listed building.

This will be a 52-week programme for Oak, delivering 33 high-quality apartments for the rental market.

To get the project rolling, Mansell’s light gauge steel frame will begin to be manufactured at their MMC Factory in the first quarter of the year to be ready to delivered and erected on site in Q2.

As this is the second project Mansell are delivering for Oak it will benefit from the same principles: proactive design collaboration, transparent cost planning, and a factory-led approach that reduces risk and will hopefully once again accelerate delivery over the elements Mansell are involved in.

This level of collaboration is not just good practice – it’s essential for MMC to succeed. When design, procurement, and delivery align under a shared vision, risk reduces and confidence grows.

As the North West accelerates its regeneration agenda, the Bosden at Stopford Park and Rochdale experiences offer a clear lesson: early engagement and collaborative partnerships are not optional – they are the foundation for smarter, more sustainable building.

For developers, contractors, and local authorities, the message is simple: involve your delivery partners early, build relationships based on trust, and embrace innovation with confidence. The result? Projects delivered faster, safer, and with certainty.

/0 Comments/by