Large out-of-London landlords bidding for SAHP funding in capital, deputy mayor says

“I think that’s a very, very welcome addition to the mix in London,” he added.

When asked whether larger landlords from outside London are looking to move into the capital, Mr Copley said: “I think, off the top of my head, two or three that aren’t exclusively outside London but have been predominantly outside London – they do have some stock, but have been less active, and they aren’t members of the G15 – who are now coming forward with quite ambitious bids, which is really welcome as well.”

He also said the GLA is seeing among larger G15 housing associations that “more of them are now coming back into ambitious development programmes” after a few years of focusing on existing stock.

Mr Copley said this focus included “management and maintenance, quite rightly, building safety, quite rightly, because of very well-publicised challenges around those issues”.

Mr Copley added: “More now, I think, are moving back into a space where they are ambitious when it comes to housing delivery.

Speaking on the same panel, Simon Century, chief investment officer at Homes England and chief executive of the National Housing Bank, said he is seeing “strong ambition both from the non-profit and the for-profit sectors”.

“Generally speaking, strong ambitions [are] really set up, and so I look forward to seeing what the bids look like shortly,” he added.

Homes England’s strategic partnership route under its £27.3bn SAHP closed for bidding on 15 April, with allocations expected over the summer.

Last month, the agency’s new executive regional director for the North West told Inside Housing that providers are “really raising their game” in terms of housing delivery ambition.