Famed housebuilder, Vistry, is in the limelight following a grand £580m deal to sell 1,750 new homes to eminent private equity titan Blackstone and its cohort Regis. The accord foresees a slew of properties under the umbrella of Blackstone and its partner, lining up for the rental market.
Overshadowing its rivals, Leaf Living – backed staunchly by both Blackstone and Regis – will manage this sumptuous portfolio of properties. The properties nestle chiefly in the southeast of England, specifically across 36 chosen sites designed by Vistry.
A fraction of these originate from Vistry’s prestigious old housebuilding landbank. Completion of the first batch of homes under this deal is anticipated by the end of the month, while the lion’s share is due for completion within two years.
Greg Fitzgerald, the top man at Vistry Group, put his spin on the situation: “By working in partnership with organisations like Leaf Living, we can maximise the number of high-quality homes we deliver every year.”
Throwing more light on the strategy, he said: “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.”
Professing optimism for the upcoming year, Fitzgerald added: “This year we are on track to deliver more than a 10% increase in new home completions, playing a key part in helping to address the UK’s acute housing shortage.”
James Seppala, head of European real estate at Blackstone, remarked: “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.”
He added, “Partnerships such as these can meaningfully accelerate the delivery of new homes and help alleviate structural undersupply across the sector.”
Vistry has ramped up its commitment to affordable housing through partnerships after its £1.25 billion acquisition of housebuilder Countryside in 2022.
Peel Hunt analysts commented: “We are not changing any forecasts on the back of this announcement, but see it as further reassurance that the partnerships model has legs.”
They also noted, “The group has now signed nine notable deals since the start of September 2023, with a total of around 14,400 homes worth probably more than £4 billion of revenue.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Vistry’s shares saw a slight dip, falling by 0.7 percent.
