Scotland’s home builders praised the new £30m of funding for the hugely successful Help to Buy (Scotland) shared equity scheme announced today by the First Minister.

Focusing on smaller developments, the industry hopes it will address some of the problems facing SME builders who have been particularly affected by constrained development finance.

Philip Hogg, Chief Executive of trade body Homes for Scotland (right), said:

“Nicola Sturgeon said today that the biggest investment Scotland can make is in its people.  We therefore need to build the many thousands of warm, sustainable homes needed to properly house our population and provide the safety and security Scots need to develop their full potential.

“So having called for specific action to assist SME home builders who have a key role to play in achieving this, we welcome the additional £30m of Help to Buy (Scotland) investment announced today.  We hope it will provide the confidence and encouragement banks and other lenders need to provide the development funding which will enable SMEs to play their full part in delivering much needed homes, creating jobs and boosting local economies.

“The potential success of this move, however, will depend on the detail so we look forward to an early meeting with officials to fully discuss the criteria.

“We also look forward to a further announcement regarding additional Help to Buy (Scotland) budget to support the wider industry given the impact caused by this year’s budget running out in July.”