Legal & General and Stonebond deliver rental boost for Cambridgeshire
Legal & General’s Suburban Build-to-Rent business (LGSBTR) and Stonebond have agreed an exchange of 41 new suburban Build-to-Rent (‘BTR’) homes in Wintringham, St Neots, west Cambridgeshire. With significant demand for quality family rental housing across the UK, this new parcel of homes will provide a long-term, reliable option for members of the St Neots community.
The 41 new suburban BTR homes in St Neots will provide much-needed, high-quality family homes in an area connected to schools, employment, transport infrastructure, and key amenities. They are conveniently located only 47 minutes from London by train, and 30 minutes from Cambridge by car. Consisting of 10 flats and 31 houses, these homes will feature air-source heat pumps and electric vehicle charging points to support reductions in household and transport emissions. The first handover of units is expected to take place in June 2024.The homes are part of a wider family-focused masterplan designed by Urban&Civic which has already delivered an award winning new primary school, natural and well-equipped play areas throughout the development, and will deliver further retail and amenity spaces, including a café, community centre and Health Centre. Designed with wellbeing at its core, Wintringham also provides leisure routes for residents to get close to nature, as well as creating acres of new habitats for people and nature to enjoy.
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. LGC’s 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. Taking a socially orientated investment approach, the business is committed to delivering the housing that 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.
Stonebond is a premium-partnerships developer, focused on the delivery of high quality, mixed-tenure developments across the UK. The company, which was established over 40 years ago and is privately owned by the Cherry family, who were the founders of Countryside Properties, works in collaboration with its partners to help solve the UK’s housing crisis. At Wintringham, Stonebond is building 127 new homes within an attractive landscaped setting, including 2-5 bedroom flats and houses.
David Reid, Managing Director, Legal & General SBTR:
“We are a committed investor in homes that support healthier living standards and address the significant demand for quality rental housing across the UK, so I’m delighted to announce this new exchange with Stonebond. This partnership will deliver much-needed family homes in a thoughtfully designed and well-connected community, whilst also building out assets for our long-term partners. Delivering diverse residential offerings across the country is essential to meet the UK’s housing needs, and reliable, long-term rental options must be a part of this.”
Andrew Cornelius, Group CEO, Stonebond:
“As a partnerships developer, our main objective is to deliver thriving, mixed-tenure communities by working with housing providers and PRS investors, and we’re very pleased to be working with Legal & General here in Wintringham. There is a significant housing need for quality, rented housing in the local area, and this deal will help to meet that need. At the same time, we’re also providing 38 affordable homes with our partner Orbit Group, as well as open market homes, providing housing opportunities to a broad range of people.”
Legal & General’s SBTR platform offers 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.
The SBTR platform is working towards having all new homes delivered from 2030 operate at net zero carbon emissions, in line with Legal & General’s wider commitment to sustainability. 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.