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L&G unveils first affordable homes as it eyes £500m pipeline
Legal & General (L&G) is releasing the first wave of homes from its new affordable housing business this month, as the unit aims to deliver 3,000 properties a year by 2023.
The listed financial services giant, which secured ‘registered provider’ status for the subsidiary last December, is making 278 affordable homes available across four sites in Cornwall, Croydon, Essex and Oxfordshire as part of an initial £55m spend.
L&G first revealed last year it was launching its own housing association with the aim of becoming the “leading private affordable housing provider in the UK”.
The group has committed around £500m to a pipeline of more than 40 sites across the UK, which will offer 1,500 affordable homes over the next two years.
At the time of its affordable housing arm launch last year, Nigel Wilson, chief executive at L&G, said: “Affordable housing is a classic example of under investment with minimal new equity capital being deployed to the sector.”
L&G is aiming to boost affordable housing supply through tie-ups with other “best-in-class” housing associations and councils.
In Cornwall, L&G has launched a joint venture with Coastline Housing aimed at delivering 600 affordable homes a year. The joint venture’s first scheme is in Falmouth, offering 44 affordable homes across two phases, with the first due this to be available this month.
In Croydon, 50 shared ownership flats at Leon House will be made available this month.
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Elsewhere, schemes in Dunstable, Essex and Shrivenham are being delivered under Section 106 agreements. Phoenix Park in Dunstable, comprising 23 shared ownership flats, will be available to buyers by the end of this year.
The scheme in Shrivenham will include 109 homes at affordable rent and 52 shared ownership units, which is to be completed by the summer next year.
Ben Denton, managing director at L&G Affordable Homes, said: “Today marks the real start of our journey as we deliver our first affordable homes, working alongside high-quality local providers to tackle the growing crisis.”
L&G is also producing modular homes at a £50m factory near Leeds. A spokesperson told Inside Housing none of the initial four schemes would include modular but it is in “discussions about that being an option for the other sites coming up”.
