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As revealed by Inside Housing, US private equity giant Blackstone has launched a new company, Sage Partnerships, to develop affordable housing. Here Sir Michael Lyons, chair of Sage and housing sector heavyweight, explains its ambitions
The housing review I led in 2014 set out a pathway to help solve the housing crisis. It emphasised the need to build many more houses for rent, both to meet housing need and to make the supply chain more resilient against periodic downturns.
The review also stressed the need to mobilise a much wider range of organisations in building the homes needed by our children and grandchildren. It is against that background that I am pleased to now join Sage Partnerships to deliver a significant supply of new affordable homes to rent.
Sage Partnerships has been established by Blackstone to channel substantial, additional investment into the housing sector by working collaboratively with public and private sector landowners.
It has been designed in response to feedback from potential partners who have yet been unable to fulfil their development aspirations and I am delighted to say we are already exploring a range of potential projects.
Blackstone is one of the world’s largest investors in social housing and its focus in this area offers the prospect of a game-changing contribution to housing supply in the UK.
Sage Partnerships will work beside its sister company Sage Housing to create a large-scale portfolio of homes to rent on an affordable basis.
These will be managed by Sage Housing and other registered providers and be subject to the normal rules governing allocation and future rent. We are confident that we will deliver homes that adhere to and exceed the highest standards in design and functionality.
Sage Partnerships will be working with local authorities, housing associations, public sector organisations, private landowners and developers to create additional new homes to rent.
In recent years, the availability and quality of student accommodation has been transformed by large-scale private investment.
We are confident the same can be done for affordable housing.
“The availability and quality of student accommodation has been transformed by large-scale private investment. We are confident the same can be done for affordable housing.”
The dog that has yet to bark in response to the housing crisis is local government. Over half of all local authorities have set up housing companies in recognition of local needs and priorities, but very few have delivered a significant number of new homes.
The government is removing the caps on Housing Revenue Accounts and that offers councils new flexibilities as well as a strong message to progress plans for additional homes.
We will work with them, other public and private sector landowners and institutions to inject secure and stable funding and, where required, proficiency and highly skilled experts to help drive early delivery.
What we ask in return from our partners is that they are single minded about building new affordable homes.
We will not impose models or schemes on our partners. Instead, we will work to local plans and aspirations within the constraints of economic viability.
We have already seen proposals which could progress stalling developments and increase the proportion of affordable homes on active developments, as well as entirely new developments where land is available and there is an appetite for genuine partnership.
Sage Partnerships’ investors are in this for the long term and committed to building significant quantities of new homes exclusively for rent at affordable rates.
This will be our sole focus over the coming months and years, and I am excited to be working with the team to help deliver a step change in the delivery of new homes.
Sir Michael Lyons, chair, Sage Partnerships and chair, English Cities Fund