L20FT
We celebrated our 20-year anniversary - with a L20FT party alongside the UKAA.
2023 was a landmark year for LOFT, as we marked 20 years of trading independently. LOFT is a Mancunian company, and we have been proud to be a part of the Build To Rent (BTR) Revolution that has swept the UK, taking particular hold in Manchester. Build to Rent accommodation providers have elevated the standards of rented accommodation in the city since the start of the BTR boom in the early 2010s - LOFT has played a huge part in this revolution, providing furnishings for over 15,000 of the flagship residential homes in Manchester, Salford and across the UK.
Build to Rent Report
In March 2023, Homeviews published its Build To Rent Report, diving into the feedback on BTR developments across the UK from those who matter most - the residents.
Reflecting on the data, one thing was clear; developments furnished by LOFT were rated higher by residents on every HomeViews review category.
In the HomeViews report, developments furnished by LOFT scored highest for Design, averaging 4.72 out of 5, compared with the BTR benchmark of 4.36 for the sample period. This was consistent across every review category with an impressive average score for Value at 0.64 above the average. LOFT understands and appreciates the impact of interior design upon human behaviour - our purpose as a company is to create homes sustainably, designed for the well-being of modern residents.
The HomeViews report provides objective validation that LOFT’s "People First Design" ethos paves the way for excellent resident experience.
UKAA Summer Party
One of the mainstays of the BTR revolution has been the United Kingdom Apartment Association. The UKAA advocates for resident wellbeing and the interests of the BTR sector through its work at both national and regional level.
Its tireless commitment to championing BTR with the government and beyond has helped to shore up the UK as one of the leading lights in BTR living globally. When we were invited to host the UKAA NW Hub’s summer event, we were delighted to accept. LOFT’s founding membership of UKAA is something that we wear as a badge of pride. As an organisation, it has raised the bar for BTR living, and as a president Brendan Geraghty has marked himself as a progressive pioneer through his personal commitment to the importance of ESG within the UK Property Sector. Celebrating 20 years of LOFT alongside the UKAA was a memorable evening, and it was truly humbling to be surrounded by so many property professionals who have supported us throughout the years.
Inspiring The Next Generation
Community is an integral part of LOFT’s foundations, enhanced by its work across the property sector – donations to numerous UK charities, upcycling of furniture and re-purposing of homes - it’s always been important to LOFT that we give back.
Established in 2019, 84Youth is a response to the rise in Serious Youth Violence (SYV) and Perpetual Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) caused by violent, criminal and harmful events within the Moss Side, Hulme and Old Trafford area of south Manchester.
The charity provides a supportive sanctuary to youths across the side Moss Side area in Manchester who have been affected by such violence and trauma. LOFT donated to the cause by designing, furnishing and installing a social space facility, via sister company Live Off Grid providing a base of operations for the organisation.
Ashadu L20FT Residential Case Study
Beyond that, Ben saw the potential of two of the boys at 84Youth who were setting up their own business – Ashadu Photography. LOFT commissioned them to create a drone video of the developments LOFT has furnished in Manchester and Salford over the last 20 years, as part of our L20FT celebrations. The results were so impressive that we have continued to work with Samuel and Ethan, and look forward to sharing the fruits of our next collaboration.
Akemia Minnot, Director at 84Youth, told us “As soon as I met Benjamin Hall and the team at LOFT, I knew that by introducing him to the Ashadu brothers something special would happen. The hunger and entrepreneurial spirit is so strong from both sides – I’m delighted it worked out!”
Inspiring the next generation is something LOFT truly believes in. Members of staff from LOFT have presented at schools and charities to give young people an idea of what working in the property industry is like.
Regeneration Brainery
In 2023, we’ve also worked closely with Regeneration Brainery, a non-profit which inspires young people to kickstart a career in property and regeneration, and then provided work experience to those interested in learning more.
In June we hosted a 1 Day Brainery, bringing teens together at our Manchester Warehouse Facility for a 1 day insight into all that the day-to-day life at LOFT entails. We subsequently provided work experience placements across our central support functions, allowing the young people to take a deeper look into the departments with which they felt a close connection.
Sales Team Leadership
Ann Durrell brings over 25 years of experience in the residential property sector to her role at LOFT. As the Sales and Customer Services Director at LOFT.uk, Ann specialises in guiding furnishing solutions for all property types, from studios to penthouses, from landlords to developers. Ann leverages her expertise and network to deliver bespoke and tailored services that enhance the value and appeal of each property, while ensuring customer satisfaction and loyalty.
In the summer, Ann was joined by Ben Relton, who has taken the lead on Private Rented Sector sales in the South. With 15 years of management experience at Foxtons, Ben leads LOFT’s growing presence across the South. He has already built a strong team, delivering furniture to agents, residential landlords, serviced accommodation and short lets providers across the region.
Working together, Ann and Ben strive to elevate the property strategy of LOFT’s clients and partners, and to create exceptional living spaces that reflect their vision and style.
In July 2023, Laura Clarke joined LOFT as Director of Business Development. Laura brought her wealth of business development experience to LOFT and has hit the ground running, representing LOFT at BTR and PBSA events across the UK and Europe, forging strong connections with Developers, Investors, Architects, Property Managers and Consultants.
Build to Rent Projects Completed
We furnished numerous high-profile developments across the UK, for the biggest names in residential property.
- Heimstaden - Soho Loop 662 homes furnished
- Quintain - Wembley Park 90 homes furnished
- Cortland - Colliers Yard 476 homes furnished
- BROADWAY Northacre - 135 rental units furnished
- U&A for Dandara Living 134 homes furnished
- The Mint, Grainger, Guildford 98 homes furnished
Strengthening global supply chain
In September 2023 LOFT's Founder Benjamin Hall embarked on a month long procurement expedition to China - LOFT prides itself on its close relationships with manufacturing partners and suppliers, taking the time to meet with factory owners and workers alike, to verify their ethical working practices in person. These close relationships also allow LOFT to continue to innovate from a product development perspective.
The resounding theme for this year’s China visit was to look to the future of product development for residential property, perfectly balancing style, durability, sustainability and price point.
During our visit LOFT.uk x SENCHUAN FURNITURE agreed an exciting new partnership, for the exclusive supply of BRAND NEW sustainable furnishings designed for residential projects across the UK & Europe.
Senchuan is a forward thinking FSC & BSCI accredited manufacturer, based in Taizhou, Zhejiang province China, who’s values align perfectly with ours, especially from an ESG perspective.
Look out for an exclusive and #sustainable, new product offer designed for “Blended Living” using recycled sea waste fabrics and recycled PP coming soon!
LOFT x GRADO Partnership
2023 also saw the launch of LOFT’s partnership with Grado based in Hangzhou, China. Founded in 2014, Grado is an international design brand synonymous with high-quality and stylish furniture which elevates interiors. Grado has quickly established itself as a design market leader with unique Italian-inspired furniture, with a focus that extends beyond the look of its furniture. Grado aspires to create ‘friendly’ furniture with a simple and natural style, all to enhance resident wellbeing.
Every piece has been carefully thought out to tell its own story. Even the name, Grado, is the Italian word for degree, emphasizing how the company aspires to design from new perspectives. LOFT is the sole supplier of Grado furniture to the United Kingdom. We're excited to reveal that their exclusive designs are now available on our website.
Protecting Half a million trees
LOFT’s commitment to excellence through innovation has grown yet deeper in 2023.
Our partnership with OneTribe has continued to develop, and this summer we hit the marvellous milestone of protecting over 500,000 mature trees, in areas of the world where they are most at risk of deforestation. When we started this initiative in 2022, we believed that we had found a partner with whom we could make a real difference in the world, and to see such a remarkable achievement in the first 12 months makes me so excited for what we will go on to deliver together.
Oak Apple Farm Tree Planting
Closer to home, we have continued to nurture the food forest and plant more trees at Oak Apple Farm, our partner community off grid farm in Leek, Staffordshire. Thank you to everyone who joined us at the farm this year, whether in the torrential rain in October, or in the brilliant sunshine of a crisp December morning. It’s simply energising to see the growth and progress from one visit to the next. We’re already planning the next @LOFT.uk event at the farm for Spring 2024. Email TreePlanting@loft.co.uk if you would like to come along.
LOFT x DCTR AI collaboration
As a small, privately owned company, LOFT is able to be flexible, seizing opportunities as and when they arise. So at LOFT, we’ve been keenly observing the rise of AI, and looking at its potential uses within the residential property sector. It is clear to us that its use for virtual staging is a game changer. That AI presents an ideal solution to enable property professionals with portfolios of all sizes to present their visions to prospective residents, even while works are still ongoing.
This year we launched a partnership with DCTR. The synergies were clear from the start. We share a belief that it should be easy to create spaces that people love to live. And we love their simple platform that allows you to upload property photos for enhancing, pro-retouching, virtual furnishing and more. Which is why we chose to offer digital twins of LOFT’s Complete Furniture packages exclusively on their platform.
So whether you’re looking to add warming tones through the Copper Modernist package, or feeling inspired by the cool Scandi-chic of the Copenhagen package, you can offer potential residents a glimpse of the future of your property with a full set of digital furniture within 48 hours.
Delivering quality housing and sustainable furniture
We have forged purposeful partnerships with End Furniture Poverty, The Re-use Network and Single Family Housing Association.
In 2023, LOFT became a founding member of the UK Single Family Association. A not-for-profit members organisation representing the whole housing and construction spectrum. Including Investors, operators, manufacturers, architects, construction companies, housebuilders, housing associations, local authorities, as well as specialist contractors and legal firms. Our mission & goal is to deliver more quality housing, quickly, across the entire UK residential property sector which is currently dramatically under-supplied.
Supporting a Sustainable, Circular Economy
LOFT abides by the principles of the circular economy, since launching the company in 2003 LOFT has offered a furniture removal service, removing waste furniture at the same time as delivering new, and ensuring that this waste is disposed of and recycled / upcycled responsibly.
As of today, LOFT proudly boasts a 98% landfill diversion rate of the furniture and packaging replaced or removed from properties. Cardboard and plastic are separated on site and any suitable second-hand furniture is reused and repaired and, where possible, donated to local charities. Anything non-recyclable is collected by waste management companies and sent to an RDF facility to generate sustainable power.
In 2024 LOFT is launching an expanded waste management and recycling facility at our flagship warehouse in Manchester. This will further empower us to make positive choices in the processing of the waste we remove from our clients.
Recycling your furniture
LOFT leads the way in product innovation. LOFT actively works with our suppliers to create new products that are manufactured from sustainable materials, delivered in recyclable packaging and that are recyclable at the end of their usable life. Furthermore, LOFT has developed products that are made from recycled materials, including our Regenerate Mattress, which is made up of 95% recycled materials.
In 2023, LOFT has used its platform to shine a light on the prevalence of furniture poverty and helping to be part of the solution to end it. LOFT has furnished emergency safe housing for women fleeing domestic violence, donated furniture to Embassy (a charity tackling homelessness in Manchester), provided furniture for housing Ukrainian refugees, and made substantial donations of furniture to other national charities such as The Salvation Army and The Reuse Network.
LOFT Warehouse Outlet
As part of LOFT’s mission to ensure that no piece of furniture gets wasted, and enjoys a second life, in 2023 LOFT opened the doors at the LOFT Warehouse Outlet in Manchester - focused upon refurbishing and donating upcycled furniture and selling through our discontinued and graded product lines. Located within our Manchester warehouse facility (M12 5AQ), the LOFT Warehouse Outlet store showcases samples and pre-loved furnishing at amazing discounted prices and is open to the public, 9-5pm on weekdays.
We understand that not everyone can make it to our warehouse outlet store, so in addition to our in-person sale, we are also offering selected discounts online through our eBay store - where customers can browse and shop from the comfort of your own home, ensuring that you don't miss out on the fantastic deals we have available.
Work with LOFT
2024 is only going to be bigger
2023 has been a landmark year for LOFT as we've celebrated our 20th year, but 2024 is already shaping up to be bigger, better and bolder. Join LOFT on our journey...
