Legal & General and Miller Homes agree partnership to deliver 260 new Suburban Build-to-Rent homes
Legal & General’s Suburban Build-to-Rent business (LGSBTR) and Miller Homes have joined forces to deliver 260 new Suburban Build-to-Rent homes in Northamptonshire. The partnership aims to address the significant demand for quality rental housing across the UK by delivering high-quality homes and communities that enable people to live healthier lives.
The 260 homes are largely comprised of two- and three-bed houses featuring air-source heat pumps and solar panelling, with the first handover of units expected to take place in March 2024 and final handovers in Q3 2027. The homes are part of masterplans which will provide not only new homes but also new community facilities, schools, and employment space, in well-connected locations.
LGSBTR is owned by Legal & General Capital (LGC), the alternative asset platform of Legal & General Group. LGC is a leading direct investor, developer, and operator in residential property. With one of the largest and most diverse residential platforms in the UK we have successfully scaled up multiple operating businesses across a range of tenures, building houses to sell and rent, providing lively retirement communities, and finding new ways to deliver affordable housing. Our housing platform continues to benefit from a highly diversified portfolio and a robust long-term plan that will meet our liabilities over the long run, generating long-term index-related cash flow. We take a socially orientated investment approach, with a commitment to delivering the housing that our society needs to address structural shortages across every dimension of the market. As a result, LGC has delivered over 16,000 homes in the last three years.
David Reid, Managing Director of Legal & General SBTR, said:
“We’re delighted to begin a new strategic partnership with Miller Homes, simultaneously creating assets for our annuity division and other pension schemes and addressing the significant demand for quality rental housing across the UK. Now more than ever, we must deliver diverse residential offerings, to better accommodate the broad range of different households that exist in the market. This includes the provision of reliable, long-term rental options. At LGSBTR we are determined to meet that need with high-quality, well-managed, and thoughtfully designed properties to help people live healthy and happy lives.”
Benjamin Massey, Divisional Managing Director at Miller Homes, said:
“This marks the start of an exciting long-term partnership. We are pleased to have agreed a deal with L&G to deliver 260 single-family, build-to-rent homes in Northamptonshire alongside our ongoing work to provide high quality homes in key regional markets across the UK.
“Moving forward, the inclusion of Build-to-Rent homes as part of our business model will allow us to continue to diversify our portfolio, whilst creating new opportunities for land acquisition and supporting our overall growth ambitions.”
William Pearce, Associate at Savills, said:
“Savills Operational Capital Markets is delighted to have advised Miller Homes on this disposal to Legal & General. Recent research from Savills shows that up to 1 million additional homes will be required to accommodate ever growing demand for rental product, particularly from young families, across England and Wales. This transaction will deliver a combined 260 much-needed rental homes to their respective local markets, going some way in assisting with this demand.”
Legal & General’s SBTR platform creates much-needed, high-quality family homes in areas connected to schools, employment, transport infrastructure, and key amenities, offering a best-in-class product, exceptional service as an institutional landlord, and a long-term, reliable service proposition for customers. LGSBTR homes are designed to reflect new ways of living post-COVID and features that promote health, such as exceptional build quality, home offices for flexible working, and access to more extensive outdoor space.
In line with Legal & General’s wider commitment to sustainability, the SBTR platform will target to be operationally carbon net zero from 2030. LGSBTR have also set up a Healthy Communities Committee, which includes learnings from the NHS Healthy New Towns programme, to support health and wellbeing throughout the communities it creates. The committee will ensure that all homes and communities are designed specifically with health and wellbeing at their core.