Larkfleet Homes chief urges staying in EU for housing market certainty 

Karl Hick, the chief executive officer of The Larkfleet Group, which includes housebuilders Larkfleet Homes and Allison Homes, is urging Britain to stay in the EU to provide general economic stability that will give housebuilders a level of certainty upon which to tackle the country’s housing shortage.

Hick, a major player in local business in the East Anglia and East Midlands areas where his housebuilder brands operate, believes “uncertainty means job opportunities lost, businesses not started, homes not built” and advocates voters seeing the benefits of staying put in the EU for the sake of stability.

Writing for website Eastern New Home Buyer, Hick says: “A stable economic environment gives the confidence necessary to invest, to take on staff and to develop new opportunities. 

“If we vote on 23 June to stay within the EU we can be sure that things on 24 June will be pretty much the same as they were on 22 June. That, in my view, would be good for the UK economy, good for business and good for all of us as individuals. 

“Those who advocate leaving the EU are in no position to offer certainty. The only certainty they offer is that, if they win the vote, the future on 24 June will be uncertain. 

“Uncertainty means job opportunities lost, businesses not started, homes not built. Carried forward (as it will be if we vote to leave the EU), uncertainty also risks becoming higher inflation, higher mortgage rates, higher unemployment - and lower wage growth for those still in work.”

Concluding his guest blog entry, Hick says: “Unpredictability is not good for business. It is therefore not good for any of us as individuals because we all rely on business to provide jobs and incomes (including pensions) and to pay the taxes which support public services. On 23 June I shall therefore be voting to remain in the EU.” 

Hick was last year named as the Institute of Directors (IoD) East Midlands Director of the Year and also as the Director of the Year in the Large Company category. He was also the winner of the Outstanding Entrepreneur Award at the 2015 Global Business Excellence Awards and winner of the Executive of the Year, in the materials and construction category, in the International Business Awards. 

Take a look at the full range of Larkfleet Homes developments here.