Social value in construction: how to strengthen your business and community impact

Podcast transcript – Season 3 episode 5 – Social value in construction: how to strengthen your business and community impact

AMY VOCE: Hello, I'm Amy Voce, and you're listening to The Build Up podcast, brought to you by the Federation of Master Builders. I'm joined, as always, in the studio by my co-hosts — Aidan Cropper, Managing Director of Ipsum UK Limited in Nottinghamshire, and David Gutierrez, Director of Nest Building Group in Surrey — both proud FMB member companies.

AMY VOCE: Today, we're talking about how builders can support local communities, help people through the homes they deliver, and build businesses that stand for something — while still being commercially sound. It's a conversation about quality, responsibility, and purpose, and the role construction plays in shaping people's lives.

AMY VOCE: We're joined today by two guests from Red Brickz. Reza Yunis leads the business and its overall direction, while Kaleem Ghani plays a key operational role, working closely with build teams, local authorities, support partners, and residents. Together, they deliver housing projects focused on improving standards and supporting people into more stable, long-term living.

Reza, Kal — welcome to the podcast.

How Red Brickz Got Started

AMY VOCE: Reza, Red Brickz works closely with local authorities and support organisations. How did you first get into this kind of work, and what drew you towards it?

REZA YUNIS: We stumbled into it, honestly. Originally, we were HMO builders. We got burnt by a builder back in 2010 — so we inherited the build team, and I just had to take over. I didn't even know what a CLS was or a 4(2) — I had to learn the hard way. We were doing student HMOs, and what was supposed to take one year took two.

REZA YUNIS: But we got around it. We inherited the team, started expanding and growing, and we could see a unique finish product compared to what typical HMO developers were delivering. We were trying to go against the grain — rising damp, old bedsits, that kind of thing. We wanted to improve what was being delivered.

REZA YUNIS: Then we started growing into Coventry, Derby, and we realised there was actually a market for transitional housing. We only stumbled onto that because of the growth of austerity and councils going under. A combination of things led us into transitional housing — that initial project shaped our entire direction.

AMY VOCE: And how did the business evolve to support this way of working?

REZA YUNIS: We've grown from just me to a team of ten, then twenty. I work with project managers — we scale by having allocated project managers that my brother and I oversee. That's how we've grown.

Why Build Quality Transforms Lives

AMY VOCE: Kal, you're very close to the day-to-day delivery. How does the way homes are built or refurbished make a real difference to the people living in them?

KALEEM GHANI: Transitional housing has quite a negative implication — people think "council tenants" and all that. But what we realised is that the kind of houses they were living in were causing that mentality. Mice in the house, damp — that kind of environment. We realised that if we deliver a really good product and make them happy in the house, their behaviour changes. And we've actually seen this.

KALEEM GHANI: We've seen tenants who have been troublesome in the past move into one of our high-spec HMOs, and all of a sudden they're tidying the kitchens, getting more involved, looking for work. It's almost living up to the name — transitional. It's bringing them back into society, and I see it as a really big positive.

AMY VOCE: They're taking pride in where they live. That's incredible.

[Laughter]

The Wider Community Impact of Quality Construction

AMY VOCE: Aidan and David — from your experience, does good quality construction have a wider impact beyond the job itself?

AIDAN CROPPER: Huge. It's the wellbeing of the people living there. Whether it's domestic or commercial work, the ripple effect is enormous. We recently delivered a community centre in Derby — it was incredible to see the wider impact. Not just for the people using it, but for small businesses able to operate out of it. Delivering quality makes such a difference.

AIDAN CROPPER: And Reza — you mentioned being on the other end of a poor builder early on. That's a really powerful story, because now you're on the other side, delivering great projects and changing lives. That's really positive for our industry.

DAVID GUTIERREZ: When you're creating something clean and smart, people look after it. I know that personally — when my wife and I have done up houses, you carry yourself differently in a well-finished space. You start to treat it with more respect.

REZA YUNIS: Exactly. And that's what we're building — co-living spaces. Not just HMOs anymore. No one is an accidental landlord now. We're investors who take pride in our business, and that business is providing homes for people. It's not just a room — it's a home.

HMO Standards, Resident Guidelines & Wellbeing

REZA YUNIS: There are guidelines for both the properties and the residents, especially at the high-end. And we've found — give someone something nice, they look after it. It's like a good pair of trainers. The same principle works with students, professionals, and now under Anchor Pathways, transitional housing too.

KALEEM GHANI: I could count on one hand the issues we've had. You see people come in one way, and a week later they're sweeping the kitchen. They get that swagger — "this house is really nice, there's a big flat screen, there's Wi-Fi." We've even had requests for mops and hoovers.

REZA YUNIS: That's a great sign. They want to keep it clean. I'm getting phone calls asking, "When are the cleaners coming in?"

[Laughter]

Regenerating Existing Buildings — Why It Matters

AIDAN CROPPER: How important is raising standards in existing buildings — refurbishing HMOs in places like Coventry and Birmingham?

REZA YUNIS: It's about wellbeing, but it's also economic. If houses are lived in and well-maintained, they're not derelict and they don't drag down the area. Inner-city Birmingham, inner-city Coventry — these cities have become more derelict because the properties aren't nice. We can reverse that.

DAVID GUTIERREZ: Do these HMO refurbishments count towards the government's 1.5 million homes target?

REZA YUNIS: They should, but they don't — and that's a shame. The FMB has had discussions on this. They believe it should count, and so do I. We're bringing buildings back into use, housing people who need it. Why isn't that acknowledged?

Social Impact, Anchor Pathways & Supporting Communities

AMY VOCE: You clearly care about the social aspect of what you do. Do you get young people involved in the building work?

REZA YUNIS: We've recently started. We're on the government apprenticeship scheme now — we're looking for young, hungry people in their late teens, getting them in and upskilling them, making them competent members of society.

KALEEM GHANI: We're sourcing people from our own community frameworks — the gyms we go to, local community centres. Getting lads off the street, getting them into hard hats. Colleges too. It all ties in.

REZA YUNIS: And through Anchor Pathways, our subsidiary, we're creating more roles — more maintenance teams, multi-tradespeople. Multi-trading is the way forward.

Green Skills, Sustainability & EPC Compliance

AMY VOCE: You're retrofitting these buildings — stripping them back to brick. That must involve green skills and energy efficiency upgrades.

REZA YUNIS: We always make sure we're EPC compliant, because a lot of the older houses weren't. And with the government changing EPC ratings, everyone is rushing to catch up. The benefit for us is we strip everything to brick and go fully compliant — full insulation, fully insulated roof. They're essentially low-energy homes. That reduces the carbon footprint and brings down bills for residents.

Building a Purpose-Led Business That's Commercially Viable

AMY VOCE: So let's talk about the business side. How does this way of working benefit Red Brickz as a company?

REZA YUNIS: Ultimately, we're keeping lads in work, growing the apprenticeship programme, and scaling as a company. There's something called Article 4 happening in a lot of areas — restrictions on permitted development rights. That pushes you to look at other avenues. Anchor Pathways lets us refurbish existing HMOs. We're also doing new builds and commercial-to-residential conversions — all with the transitional living angle in mind.

AMY VOCE: What exactly is Anchor Pathways?

REZA YUNIS: It's a company we've set up under Red Brickz. Anchor Pathways finds the properties, leases them from landlords or property owners, then Red Brickz comes in and does the refurbishment work. They complement each other perfectly. These are old, tired properties that landlords haven't got the money — or the inclination — to renovate. The government has found a middle ground with DWP to make the rent viable for landlords.

Reputation, Partnerships & Investor Relationships

AMY VOCE: Does this approach help shape your reputation or attract the right partnerships?

REZA YUNIS: Definitely. We've stuck with the same investors because we come from an investment background ourselves — we always look at things from their angle as well as the community's. We've expanded into working with government bodies and organisations like Kick It. More partnerships are opening up all the time.

AMY VOCE: And for you as a business — there must be a real sense of pride in this work.

REZA YUNIS: Absolutely. We feel like we're giving back. We've had a good run, and you can see the genuine need. I speak to tenants who've been in typical supported accommodation — everyone's been brushed with the same paintbrush by the councils. But with transitional housing, we can take people who are struggling — maybe working part-time, can't afford a deposit — and house them properly. They tell us horror stories about where they've come from. It really feels like we're doing something positive.

AMY VOCE: Do you support them through that whole journey, or work with other organisations?

KALEEM GHANI: Over time, we've learned the whole process ourselves. But we work alongside a number of charities who specialise in support — navigating the benefits system, who's eligible. It's a two-way street. And we have partnerships for fully supported routes too, for people who need more intensive help.

Team, Operations & Scaling with Purpose

AMY VOCE: From an operational point of view, how important are your team and partners?

KALEEM GHANI: It's key. You need goal congruence. The housing officers, the people making referrals, the ground-level team doing viewings — everyone needs to be on the same page. The way we've operated since 2010 hasn't fundamentally changed. We're just bigger. The system is the same. The end user is different.

AMY VOCE: Aidan, do you think having a clear sense of purpose can strengthen a business as it grows?

AIDAN CROPPER: One hundred percent. For me, one of the biggest motivators is providing housing — supporting the housing crisis, helping individuals, supporting the community. And what Reza and Kal are doing — going out into the local community, supporting the people who'll live in those homes, and the people building them — there are just layers of amazing support. It can only get better, both business-wise and community-wise.

AMY VOCE: David, can values-led work make commercial sense?

DAVID GUTIERREZ: Absolutely. I'm not in this side of the industry personally — I'm all residential. But it's a fantastic route, and something I'd love to get into. Giving back is very important to me. And it's also just another avenue of work. You didn't necessarily set out to be a landlord — it just evolved. That's how the best businesses often develop.

Challenges & Lessons Learned

AMY VOCE: For anyone listening who's interested in this area of work — what challenges have you encountered as the company grew?

KALEEM GHANI: Patience is the big one. The council has a lot of due diligence to work through — making sure properties are up to scratch. It's a waiting game. Once you're through that, you get the tenants in and you learn as you go. Recently, I went to a house to help an elderly gentleman connect his printer to the Wi-Fi. That's a support need. We're not supposed to provide support, but we do, because it would be doing them a disservice not to.

KALEEM GHANI: Transitional housing is supposed to be more hands-off, but in reality it isn't — and we wouldn't have it any other way. We want them to get back out into the community and live their lives. And if these spaces are working, we'll be able to create more of them. That's the objective.

AMY VOCE: Reza — this wasn't your original plan. You're a property investor who became a builder. How do you find the challenges of running a construction company?

REZA YUNIS: I've always been an investor first and a builder second. This is part of my investment journey. I've been in it fifteen years — I didn't think it would last one year when I started. You have challenges, you have issues, but you don't break down. You adapt. And we've adapted in a way that gives something back.

Skills Shortage, Materials & Post-COVID Challenges

AIDAN CROPPER: With the challenges of the skills shortage — have you found it difficult to source certain trades and materials?

REZA YUNIS: Post-COVID, materials were a nightmare. Plaster — you were paying £50 a bag on eBay. It was dire. Then HS2 opened up and absorbed all the concrete supply. But our project managers, if they're doing their job correctly, procure early and adapt fast. Replace or retrain where necessary.

Working Across Multiple Cities — The HS2 Effect

AIDAN CROPPER: I work within about three square miles — I've often wondered how you manage teams across Derby, Coventry, Birmingham.

REZA YUNIS: We have project managers allocated to different cities. They're with us full-time and deliver to our standard. They'll use local tradespeople where possible, and our specialists — carpenters, electricians — will travel. The project manager takes responsibility for delivering the product.

REZA YUNIS: And HS2 has actually driven HMO growth in the Midlands — landlords and investors are anticipating more people moving further afield while working in London. A lot of our clients are Londoners, because HMO yields don't work in London. We've worked with investors from Australia for the same reason.

Who Are the Tenants? Students, Professionals & Transitional Residents

DAVID GUTIERREZ: Is it just students, or do you work with key workers too — nurses, doctors near hospitals?

REZA YUNIS: We started with students, still do. Then working professionals — near hospitals, exactly as you say. And now, through Anchor Pathways, transitional housing. We're still doing all three.

Lease Structures & How It Works for Investors

AMY VOCE: For investors whose properties you're taking on — what's the typical commitment?

REZA YUNIS: We offer a one-year break clause. So the investor has a way out if the relationship doesn't work for any reason. They pay for the refurbishment work — but we do it at cost price if they're putting it through Anchor Pathways, to make sure it reaches a good standard.

What's Next for Red Brickz & Anchor Pathways

AMY VOCE: What's next for you both?

REZA YUNIS: We'll keep growing Anchor Pathways — Kal will lead that side. My brother and I are still developing as well. We love taking something old and turning it into something new. Give me a historic commercial building and I'll work my magic on it. It's an art form, at the end of the day.

KALEEM GHANI: More maintenance teams, more multi-trade roles — that's the growth plan for the operational side.

Advice for Builders Who Want to Get Involved

REZA YUNIS: Look at your local area. Find the derelict buildings, identify the regeneration zones, and reach out to your council. Especially in inner cities that have lost business and trade — they want to talk, they want to partner with you. Find out what the city needs in order to grow.

Find Red Brickz & Our Hosts

AMY VOCE: Reza, Kal — where can people find Red Brickz?

REZA YUNIS: Instagram: @Red Brickzconstruction | Facebook: Red Brickz Construction | Website: www.Red Brickz.co.uk

AMY VOCE: Aidan?

AIDAN CROPPER: Find us at ipsumuk.com — socials linked from there.

DAVID GUTIERREZ: www.nestbuildinggroup.com — socials linked from there too.

🎙️ Closing Thoughts

AMY VOCE: Today's conversation shows that supporting communities isn't about scale or grand gestures. It's about care, quality, and consistency — about raising standards and recognising the role builders play in shaping people's lives.

If you're a builder who wants to be part of an organisation that champions professionalism, quality, and positive impact across the industry, find out more about FMB membership at fmb.org.uk/membership.

If today's episode has made you think differently about the impact your work can have, we'd love to hear from you. Email us at buildup@fmb.org.uk.

Thanks for joining us on The Build Up podcast, brought to you by the Federation of Master Builders. We'll see you next time.

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