Blackstone and Regis Group have inked a deal to buy 1,700 homes from developer Vistry.
The private equity firm and its joint venture partner Regis will shell out £580m for the portfolio of new build homes across the South East of England.
Vistry is in the process of selling off old properties from its house building arm, following a decision by the business to focus on becoming a solely affordable property developer.
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 and would be managed by Leaf Living.
James Seppala, head of European real estate at Blackstone, said: “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 under supplied today.
“Partnerships such as these can meaningfully accelerate the delivery of new homes and help alleviate structural undersupply across the sector.”
Back in November, Vistry offloaded 2,800 to Leaf Living and Sage Homes. Two companies which Blackstone has a stake in.
Greg Fitzgerald, chief executive at Vistry Group said:“By working in partnership with organisations like Leaf Living we can maximise the number of high-quality 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 10 per cent increase in new home completions, playing a key part in helping to address the UK’s acute housing shortage.”
Last October, the FTSE 250 firm said it would focus solely on building affordable homes via its Partnerships business. This partners with local authorities and other social housing providers after a volatile housing market eroded demand for building in the private sector.
The company said it predicts half year and full year profit to be ahead of last year and “remains confident” in achieving £800m operating profit in the medium term.