MORNING NEWS: Unlocking growth for SME housebuilders

Good morning. Here’s your daily round-up of the latest news and views from EG and some real estate-relevant headlines from the national papers. This week’s big interview is with Vic Hepburn, chief executive of the Housing Growth Partnership, the equity investor launched by Lloyds Banking Group and Homes England to help unlock housing delivery by SME builders. The organisation has deployed £400m so far and has already passed its 2025 target to fund 10,000 homes. And business is expanding: “We were keen to do regeneration. We were keen to do build-to-rent, student accommodation, retirement living. Pretty much anything that creates a shelter for people and allows us to have more impact,” Hepburn says. We also catch up with the top team at GPE to discuss a near-£3bn pipeline of potential acquisitions and the £350m rights issue that will help it do deals. The company is a net buyer of London real estate for the first time in a decade, and chief executive Toby Courtauld is calling the bottom of the market. “If you look at the investment market, Q1 ’24 is the lowest quarter that we can find in volume of transactions in modern history,” Courtauld says. “You’ve got a disrupted investment market, real prices are down a long way. Hence why we are buying again.” In M&A news, Stoneweg has agreed to buy Cromwell Property Group’s European fund management platform and co-investments for €280m (£238m), while NewRiver REIT and South Africa’s Vukile Property Fund are eyeing takeover offers for shopping centre owner Capital & Regional. All the news from EG, plus a selection of headlines from the nationals: HGP’s Vic Hepburn on fixing the housing crisis with SME funding partnershipsBrighton Gasworks plans refusedSoftware group buys AI real estate disrupterHomes England appoints five new directorsAgency wants properties to take starring role in UK film industryHave your say: Is real estate a welcoming sector for LGBTQ+ professionals?Devonshire Property’s Hartington Business Park reaches 100% occupancyHistoric England seeks offers for former Manchester manor houseGPE bosses on their £3bn acquisition pipelinePearson signs four subtenants at 80 StrandVukile and NewRiver among suitors for Capital & RegionalStoneweg to buy Cromwell’s European platform for €280mBidwells seeks to double size of business by 2030Arrow aims for bullseye with 328,000 sq ft Bolton logistics plansPicton narrows losses on industrial rental growthBusiness seeks clear victor in UK general election (£)London office market ‘set to bounce back’ (£) Economic growth slows as Britain heads towards election (£)US property giant secures £650m debt deal for UK hospitals empireStarwood Capital limits redemptions in struggling $10bn property fund (£)Is being an estate agent about to become sexy? (£)