Peters Village in Wouldham
Affordable housing provider Vistry Group has agreed terms for a deal that will see US private equity giant Blackstone Real Estate acquire a raft of new homes for private rent across the south east of England.
The portfolio, which is largely plots from Vistry’s former Housebuilding landbank, consists of c. 1,750 homes across 36 Vistry developments. The homes would be pre-sold in-line with Vistry’s Partnerships strategy of pre-selling c. 65% of all homes across the business and will help the group drive towards its medium-term financial targets.
The portfolio would be managed by Leaf Living, a provider of private rented sector housing which is backed by funds managed by Blackstone and Regis Group.
Greg Fitzgerald, Vistry chief executive, said: “By working in partnership with organisations like Leaf Living we can maximise the number of highquality 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 10pc rise in new homes, playing a key part in helping to address the UK’S acute housing shortage.”
James Seppala, head of European Real Estate at Blackstone, added: “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.”
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.
