Homes England and Aviva have launched one of the first
investments supported by the newly established National Housing
Bank. They will establish a new partnership to build high quality
family homes for rent in underinvested urban areas of the UK,
with an initial £100 million commitment and advanced pipeline
sites in Liverpool and Manchester.
The partnership will work with Place Capital Group and has the
ambition to deliver 300 homes initially with scope to develop up
to 3,300 homes as the funding grows. The homes will be developed
on underused brownfield sites in regional UK towns and cities,
improving housing stock and creating visibly cared for
neighbourhoods. The high quality, low energy rental homes will be
aiming at a market segment of lower to middle income working
families, providing certainty of tenure in urban areas with good
commuting links and social infrastructure.
This investment is one of the first to be supported by the
National Housing Bank, the government's new vehicle for long‑term
place‑shaping and housing investment. Operating as part of Homes
England, the bank deploys flexible, government‑backed finance
across funds, platforms and partnerships to unlock housing and
regeneration projects, crowding in private capital and
accelerating delivery at scale.
Aviva's investment is made through their in-house capital unit,
Aviva Capital Partners. Aviva Investors will manage the
investments, building on its leading expertise in the UK's living
sector and residential market. This new investment underpins
Aviva's commitment to invest in UK assets that contribute to the
real economy, supporting UK growth and helping develop thriving,
sustainable communities.
The partnership has already secured the Vescock Street
development in Liverpool and the Moston Lane site in Manchester.
135 homes will be built in Vescock Street, part of Liverpool's
new town ambitions, a long-term programme to improve several
underdeveloped Liverpool City neighbourhoods. Approximately 150
homes will be delivered in Moston Lane, with over a third as
affordable, as part of a wider development to transform the area.
Simon Century, Chief Executive Officer of the National
Housing Bank, said:
This partnership with Aviva is exactly the kind of investment
that the National Housing Bank was created for. Bringing together
government-backed finance and institutional capital from a
Sterling 20 investor, it supports the creation of a new housing
delivery platform, working with talented delivery partners with
the ambition to deliver at scale. It will unlock brownfield land
and deliver high quality, affordable family homes for rent across
the UK, starting in Liverpool and Manchester.
We look forward to the establishment of more platforms like this
powered by the National Housing Bank, to bring investment from
institutional investors and the private sector into England's
housing market.
David Epstein, Managing Director, Aviva Capital Partners,
said:
This investment will provide working families with high quality,
aspirational rental homes with stable tenancies, supporting urban
neighbourhoods across the country to get ready for the future.
The partnership is another way Aviva is investing in the UK,
working together with Homes England to improve local economies
and communities in cities across the country.
James Stevens, Head of Global Real Estate Equity at Aviva
Investors, said:
This is a great example of collaboration across Aviva to deliver
a dynamic and exciting new platform. The UK living sector is a
core focus for our real estate strategy, with our ambition to
allocate over 25% of our overall real estate portfolio to it in
the next three years. It also reflects the appetite we see from
like-minded investors for scalable opportunities to invest in
sustainable communities across the UK. We believe this investment
strategy can deliver considerable social value, while providing
positive long-term outcomes for retirement savers.
David Smith-Milne, founder and CEO of Place Capital
Group, said:
Being appointed as the exclusive development partner is testament
to the quality of PCG's delivery capability and track record, as
well as the strength of our development pipeline. Having secured
major regeneration projects in Manchester and Liverpool to kick
start this investment, we are excited about our continued
expansion nationally to deliver much needed family housing in
underserved markets
