BuildStore originally launched as the Self Build Advisory Service in 1998, with a land finding service and as a broker of self build mortgages. We quickly realised that self builders were not offered a comprehensive choice of mortgages and that lenders did not fully understand the specific needs of this type of customer. That was when we developed our award winning Accelerator mortgage, specifically designed for self builders in September 1998.

Our land finding service PlotSearch along with our financial services offering was the start of things because these were seen as most necessary to enable self build. However the vision for BuildStore was always to offer a complete end-to-end service to the self build market to help drive it forward and make it more accessible. In helping self builders to secure the finance for their project, we knew that they still had a lot of decisions to make about how best to use that money. We wanted to support our customers across all elements of self build from finding land, and securing the right type of finance, to design and the purchase of materials. In 2000, we relaunched as BuildStore and set about developing the end-to-end service and information hub for our customers.

In 2007, BuildStore opened The National Self Build & Renovation Centre. Our vision was to build a permanent exhibition centre big enough to operate nationally and provide everything required by homebuilders, under one roof. The Centre features life-size exhibits that graphically demonstrate the myriad of options available throughout the design and building phases of both a new build and a renovation project. Since its opening, the Centre has welcomed more than 200,000 people with many returning throughout their building programme. It is now an employee owned company and continues to go from strength to strength. You can visit BuildStore at the NSBRC at our permanent information hub where you can chat to a mortgage adviser and browse the exhibits.

BuildStore has continued to innovate and design new and improved products to support self build, and more recently custom build. We now have a panel of around 17 exclusive lenders and provide over 40 different specialist mortgages for self and custom build.

Our construction knowledge is what enables us to design products that are fit for purpose, and make the process of building a home easier. For customers wishing to build to sell or let, we offer competitive development finance and bridging loans through BuildStore Development Finance. In addition to mortgages and finance, BuildStore provides comprehensive and competitive site insurance and structural warranties through its BuildCare brand.

Custom build is now gathering momentum in the UK and BuildStore has been banging its drum loudly since 2007. Over the years, we have been actively involved in the development of Right to Build Legislation, designed to make it easier for you to design or build your own home. Custom Build Homes was set up initially to create awareness of custom build and has grown to become the UK's custom build expert helping enablers bring forward custom build sites and providing the UK's only dedicated estate agency platform for serviced plots.

The Right to Build Register from BuildStore is a national register of demand for self and custom build where you can register if you want to create a bespoke home for individuals and families who would like to create a bespoke, quality home.

The BuildStore Group