Reward's £200,000 cash injection helps construction social enterprise win record contract

A home counties-based social enterprise, which provides training and employment opportunities for young people in the construction industry, has secured a £900k project for its eco-house building division from affordable housing provider Fairhive following a £200k cash injection from Reward Finance Group.

New Meaning Construction, a licensed builder of the Beattie Passive low carbon housing system, is expanding its capacity to meet the increased demand for its services to deliver more new homes. In addition to the latest contract, it has recently successfully completed eco-homes for Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust and Warwickshire Rural Housing Association, as well as several private developments.

A cash injection provided by Reward Finance Group through its Business Finance product has been  instrumental in driving forward New Meaning’s business by providing the company with a flexible working capital facility, which it can use for the procurement of building materials to enable housing projects to commence.

New Meaning Construction was originally created as a spin-off of the training company founded in 2006, New Meaning Training, which helps young people find their strengths and develop the confidence and skills to earn their own living, primarily in the construction sector. Through its five training centres, the programme works with around fifty students every year, with some going on to secure full-time employment and developing a career in New Meaning’s construction division.

David Lett, co-founder and joint-CEO of New Meaning Construction, said:

“Our recent Beattie Passive House projects have attracted strong interest from social housing providers keen to create low carbon, highly energy efficient homes for their residents, so it is tremendous that we can now unlock our potential for growth through this new funding. In fact, without having the working capital facility in place with Reward, we would not have been able to win our latest new contract.

“Working with Reward was very easy, and they were absolutely true to their word. Everything that they said would happen, happened, and they took the time to understand our business and do their due diligence, which I believe is crucially important. I don’t often say this about a finance provider, but I really feel like Reward have got our back.”

Alan Sanderson, senior relationship manager at Reward Finance Group, added:

“Given how the building industry is having to adapt to address climate change and spiralling energy costs, as well as deal with widespread skills shortages, New Meaning Construction is extremely well-placed and capable of meeting an emerging demand for sustainable new homes. We are pleased to be able to provide David and his team with a flexible working capital facility that means short term hurdles needn’t stand in the way of their long-term growth plans.”