The unique scale of this £819m agreement is a milestone moment in Vistry’s strategic shift to a Partnerships-focused model – a shift which was announced in September, and which will be completed at the end of the year.
“This is a fantastic move for our businesses – and showcases our commitment to playing a key role in tackling the housing shortage that this country is facing,” said Greg Fitzgerald, chief executive of Vistry Group “Large-scale delivery commitments like this are a game-changer for getting new homes delivered, give much needed visibility to our supply chain, maintain development momentum for our partners and, crucially, deliver the homes our communities need.”
Stephen Teagle, chief executive of Countryside Partnerships, said: “Leaf and Sage are long-term partners of Vistry, and this agreement further cements that relationship. As a responsible developer we look forward to working with them to deliver these life-changing homes under this transformative, market-leading opportunity. We hope this will be one of several large-scale investments with valued long-term partners who are keen to be part of the housing solution and are able to join us in putting our shoulders to the wheel to tackle the acute lack of new homes.
The transaction sees 2,915 homes being acquired from Vistry, to be delivered by the first quarter of 2027.
The homes will be a variety of tenures and spread across 70 Vistry developments being built around the country under the Bovis, Linden and Countryside Homes brands. Vistry and Sage intend to use part of their existing Homes England grant funding under the Affordable Homes Programme to enable an initial tranche of delivery of both rented and shared ownership homes.
Leaf Living and Sage Homes are backed by Blackstone-managed funds and Regis Group.
James Seppala, Head of Real Estate Europe, Blackstone said: “Public-private partnerships such as this are critical for addressing the undersupply of housing in the UK. Blackstone is proud to be one of the largest capital providers for affordable housing in the UK and we are excited to expand our positive impact through this investment.”
The majority of schemes originally formed part of the Vistry Housebuilding landbank, a division which is now merging with Countryside Partnerships as part of the strategic shift to focus on delivering affordable mixed tenure homes. Since announcing the move to a Partnerships-focussed model, the group has progressed pre-sold schemes with a range of Registered Providers, local authorities and private-rented sector partners.