Vistry Group has agreed terms with Blackstone’s real estate arm and Regis Group for the acquisition of a portfolio of new-build homes with a gross development value of around £580m.
The portfolio would be managed by Leaf Living, a private rented sector housing provider backed by funds managed by Blackstone and Regis.
The portfolio, which is concentrated in the south-east of England and is largely plots from Vistry’s former housebuilding landbank, consists of some 1,750 homes across 36 Vistry developments.
The homes would be pre-sold in line with Vistry’s partnerships strategy of pre-selling circa 65% of all homes across the business.
The first completions under the agreement are expected by the end of June 2024, with the majority of homes expected to complete within the next two years.
James Seppala, head of European real estate at Blackstone, said: “Institutional private capital can play an important role in providing high-quality housing stock across the UK, particularly in the private rented sector, which is significantly undersupplied today. Partnerships such as these can meaningfully accelerate the delivery of new homes and help alleviate structural undersupply across the sector.”
Greg Fitzgerald, chief executive at Vistry Group said: “By working in partnership with organisations like Leaf Living we can maximise the number of high-quality homes we deliver every year.
“This agreement supports our differentiated business model, with the certainty provided by the pre-selling of homes enabling us to accelerate our build programmes, guarantee work for our supply chain, reduce sales and build costs and create vibrant new communities.
“This year we are on track to deliver more than a 10% increase in new home completions, playing a key part in helping to address the UK’s acute housing shortage.”
Send feedback to Pui-Guan Man
Follow Estates Gazette
