Legal & General Capital (LGC) has launched a modular housing business, Legal & General Homes, which aims to produce precision-engineered factory-made houses.

The company has signed a long-term lease on a 550,000ft² warehouse in Sherburn-in-Elmet (15 miles east of Leeds), initially employing 400-500 people; it expects to deliver its first houses in June.

Paul Stanworth, LGC’s managing director, said: “Durable modern materials and proven technology will enable us to create high-quality homes meeting a wide range of housing needs and help solve the UK’s housing crisis.

"Modern modular housing in the UK has so far been restricted to the top end of the market: the scale of our Sherburn facility will enable many more people to benefit from environment-friendly construction techniques that have already become mainstream in Europe.”

The factory will produce high-quality homes ranging from 20-storey apartment blocks to rows of terraced, semi-detached and detached houses (www.legalandgeneralgroup.com .

The technology has been proven in Austria, Germany and Scandinavia, where off-site manufacturing of housing is increasingly commonplace.

The time spent building on site will be reduced by more than 70%.