Homes England has announced a new joint venture with a European investor and developer to build 2,250 homes.
Insurance giant Swiss Life is headquartered in Zurich and holds £259bn of assets under management (picture: Alamy)
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Homes England has announced a new joint venture with a European investor and developer to build 2,250 homes #UKhousingThe government’s housing and regeneration agency has launched the ‘Impact and Places Partnership’ with Swiss Life Asset Managers and Manchester-based developer Capital & Centric.
The partnership will focus on mixed-use residential schemes, and aims to deliver £860m in new homes over the next 10 years, in regions of England where housing demand is most acute.
Homes England has a 40% stake in the joint venture under the terms of the agreement, while Swiss Life and Capital & Centric take a combined 60% stake.
The agency did not specify what tenure of homes the partnership is looking to build. Inside Housing understands the joint venture has no specific targets with regard to tenure, and requirements will vary from site to site.
All sites will be developed in accordance with local planning policy and will be affordable housing policy-compliant.
Homes England has entered several joint ventures with the private sector over the last few years, including the Habiko affordable homes entity with Muse and Pension Insurance Corporation and the Made Partnership master developer with Barratt Redrow and Lloyds.
Steve Reed, secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, said: “We will get Britain building again by backing brilliant homegrown developers like Capital & Centric, and bringing in major institutional investors like Swiss Life Asset Managers.
“We are pulling every lever to fix the housing crisis and it’s exactly this kind of deal that will help us build the 1.5 million homes faster, and in the communities that need them most.”
Insurance giant Swiss Life is headquartered in Zurich and holds £259bn of assets under management. Its UK business manages around £2bn of assets, including the Duet build-to-rent development in Salford Quays, Manchester.
Jan Plückhahn, head of real estate at Swiss Life Asset Managers, said: “We look forward to bringing our financial strength and expertise, as one of Europe’s longest-standing financial institutions, to the partnership.”
Capital & Centric specialises in regeneration, with its completed projects including Goods Yard in Stoke-on-Trent and Kampus in Manchester. Last month it was reported that Kampus, which contains 500 build-to-rent homes, might be sold to pension fund AustralianSuper for £170m.
Tom Wilmot, joint managing director of Capital & Centric, said: “The strategy is all about delivering high-quality neighbourhoods in a range of locations, not just core cities but also under-invested locations where the impact story is more compelling and the supply and demand dynamics are more favourable.”
Simon Century, chief investment officer at Homes England, said: “Attracting institutional investment to the housing sector is critical to building the new homes the country needs, and contributing to the government’s ambition to build 1.5 million new homes in this parliament.
“This new joint venture aims to develop high-quality, mixed-use residential schemes and brings together Swiss Life’s real estate experience and expertise with Capital & Centric’s impressive residential-led placemaking focus.
“Our investment in this joint venture is further evidence of our commitment to attract private capital to the residential market, while supporting small and medium developers to realise their own housebuilding ambitions.”
Earlier this month, Inside Housing interviewed Muse’s managing director of national partnerships to find out more about the Habiko partnership with Homes England.
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Picture: Alamy