Homes England, the government's housing and regeneration agency,
and Countryside Properties, part of Vistry Group plc have signed
a long-term investment joint venture to leverage the investments
made by them to accelerate the development of large sites across
England.
The new vehicle, named Hestia, is backed by a combined £150
million of capital investment by Homes England and Vistry. Hestia
will focus on the delivery of high-quality, mixed-tenure
communities at pace and scale, which will contribute towards the
government's commitment to build 1.5 million homes in this
Parliament.
Hestia's investment strategy will focus on identifying sites to
bring forward vital new infrastructure and manage the
construction of new communities of between 400 and 3,000 homes
each.
This investment follows the December 2024 announcement of the
£700 million extension to the Home Building Fund and it comes
ahead of the launch of the £16 billion National Housing Bank,
which is envisaged will unlock a further £59 billion of private
sector investment in UK housing.
, Housing and Planning
Minister, said:
Rapidly growing the pipeline of large mixed tenure sites across
the country, making more use of Modern Methods of Construction,
and backing SME housebuilders are all essential to achieving our
Plan for Change target of building 1.5 million homes in this
Parliament.
By mobilising private capital alongside government investment,
this significant new joint-venture will bring forward more
high-quality, mixed-tenure developments and deliver thousands of
new homes to buy and rent.
Stephen Teagle, Chief Executive - Partnerships & Regeneration
at Vistry said:
This joint venture is a powerful example of what can be achieved
when ambition is fused with collaboration. By coinvesting with
Homes England, Vistry are upscaling the delivery of mixed tenure
communities - Vistry is not just building homes - we're investing
in the future of communities across the UK and supporting
our focus on social value including developing social and
affordable housing.
Our intention is also to pilot selling a proportion of de-risked
land parcels to small and medium-sized housebuilders (SMEs)
helping to increase the availability of land and stimulate growth
among smaller developers.
Pat Ritchie CBE, Chair of Homes England, said:
As the government's housing and regeneration agency, one of our
key responsibilities is to unlock strategic housing sites by
working with both the public and private sector to bring them
forward at pace and scale, helping to meet the government's
housing targets.
This joint venture with Vistry Group will do just that, by
targeting large sites capable of delivering up to 3,000 new homes
in well-designed communities, while continuing to support SME
housebuilders in achieving their own growth ambitions.
Notes to editors
About Homes England
We are the government's housing and regeneration Agency, and
we're here to drive the creation of more affordable, quality
homes and thriving places so that everyone has a place to live
and grow.
We make this happen by working in partnership with thousands of
organisations of all sizes, using our powers, expertise, land,
capital and influence to bring investment to communities and get
more quality homes built.
About Vistry Group
Vistry Group is the UK's leading provider of mixed-tenure homes.
Our purpose as a responsible developer is to work in partnership
to deliver sustainable homes, communities, and social value,
leaving a lasting legacy of places people love. Operating across
26 regions, we build homes for those who need them right across
the UK.
We sell homes on the open market through three respected brands:
Bovis Homes, Linden Homes, and Countryside Homes. We are a multi
award-winning housebuilder and the Group has again been awarded
the 5 Star Rating by the Home Builders Federation following the
latest industry's Customer Satisfaction Survey. For more
information go to www.vistrygroup.co.uk
