Berkeley Group, one of the UK’s leading property developers and housebuilders, has been named a finalist in The Social & Sustainable Impact Award at the Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards 2026, recognition for a business that has made brownfield regeneration and biodiversity central to how it builds.
Established in 1976, Berkeley Group delivers high-quality homes and large scale mixed-use communities across London, Birmingham and the South of England. Its key differentiator is its focus on brownfield regeneration, with the majority of its homes delivered on previously developed land. The company transforms these sites into sustainable neighbourhoods combining homes, public spaces, transport links, community facilities and commercial premises, with a strong emphasis on restoring nature, placemaking and stewarding long-term social, environmental and economic value.
Building where others will not
In the past year the business delivered 4,203 sustainable new homes with an emphasis on under-supplied regions of the UK, 90 per cent of them built on underused land within designated urban regeneration areas. Berkeley delivered some 10 per cent of all private and affordable homes built in London over the last five years, at a time when housing delivery in the capital, one of its core markets, has fallen to record lows.
The wider public contribution is substantial. The company reports that its projects contributed £530 million of investment in community infrastructure and benefits this year, along with £98.5 million in tax for public services. Few business models, it argues, deliver that level of public benefit.
Nature and climate commitments
Berkeley describes its approach to biodiversity net gain as industry leading, and its public record supports the claim: the company states it was the first UK homebuilder to commit to biodiversity net gain on every site, years before it became mandatory. According to the entry, 56 of its developments are delivering biodiversity net gain, creating more than 1,200 acres of new or substantially improved habitat. Its climate strategy has so far delivered more than 80 embodied carbon assessments to help drive down emissions, while 100 per cent of electricity across UK operations comes from renewable sources and 87 per cent of operational energy consumption is renewable.
The developer is widely recognised for a broad range of properties, from family homes and luxury apartments to senior living, urban mixed-use projects and, more recently, build-to-rent complexes. Its purpose is to build quality homes, strengthen communities and make a positive difference to people’s lives, using sustained commercial success to make enduring contributions to society, the economy and the natural world, outcomes it credits to the passion and commitment of its people in the most challenging of market conditions.
The final furlong
Berkeley Group now competes for The Social & Sustainable Impact Award, with winners of the Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards announced at Grosvenor House, London, on 10 November 2026.
