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L&Q completes 1,500-home stock transfer in south London
L&Q has sold 1,500 homes to a small London housing association through a stock transfer and will use the funds to build more homes.
The 105,000-home landlord has offloaded the homes in Grove Park, Lewisham, to resident-led Phoenix Community Housing for an undisclosed sum, following a consultation with residents.
Plans for the deal were first announced a year ago.
At the time of completing the transfer, an L&Q spokesperson told Inside Housing: “Over the past year we’ve been agreeing details of the transfer with Phoenix, conducting surveys and intensive due diligence on the homes, and carrying out a consultation with residents to ensure their views were taken into account.”
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Most of the homes involved in the talks were transferred to L&Q from Lewisham Council in 2008.
L&Q, which has a major presence in Lewisham, said the transfer to Phoenix would “unlock capacity” for it to invest in its existing stock while continuing to build homes. Devonshires acted on behalf of L&Q on the deal.
On a wider scale, the G15 giant is significantly scaling back on its long-term development plans. Earlier this year, it revealed it was slashing its annual housebuilding target by 70%.
Confirming the deal this week, Phoenix said in a statement: “The transfer has been designed to enable L&Q to help fund the development of more new high-quality homes in south London, while enabling Phoenix to grow its resident-led community gateway model.”
Phoenix was formed through a stock transfer from Lewisham Council in 2007 and owns around 7,500 homes. It was London’s first community gateway housing association, meaning residents can become shareholders and voting board members.
Under the landlord’s rules, the chair and vice-chair must be Phoenix tenants and residents are the largest group on its board.
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