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British Land to set up registered provider for affordable units

One of the UK’s biggest property companies is in talks with housing regulator the Homes and Communities Agency about setting up its own private registered provider.

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Inside Housing understands that British Land, a FTSE 100-listed Real Estate Investment Trust, is close to setting up a subsidiary called Seymour Street Homes, which would be regulated by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

The company, due to launch later this year, will start by owning and managing 11 social and intermediate units at the company’s £130m Clarges Estate scheme, a ‘super prime’ residential development in London’s Mayfair area. This could then be extended to encompass affordable in other schemes – for example at its 5.5 million sq ft development in Canada Water.

Use of its own registered provider will deny the opportunity to housing associations, which would be the typical purchaser of affordable housing units from a developer such as British Land.

READ MORE ABOUT FOR-PROFIT HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS

for profit

 

 

Whatever happened to the for-profit providers?

 

The Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 contained provisions allowing for the creation of for-profit providers, with companies such as Grainger, Mears and Pinnacle all having established them since.

Jonathan Walters, the HCA’s deputy director of strategy and performance, said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if more followed.

British Land – which has traditionally focused on commercial property, with occasional residential investment and development – would be the largest operator of its kind to do this. It owns £13.9bn of assets UK-wide, covering nearly 30m of floor space.

Clarges Estate’s 11 Mayfair units, developed as part of a Section 106 agreement with Westminster Council, drew criticism recently because they were completed nearly 18 months ago, yet remain unoccupied. A British Land spokesperson said the units would be filled “within weeks”.

Sources close to the situation said discussions to transfer the affordable units to a conventional housing association last year had successively broken down. Instead, British Land – attracted to the units’ long-dated secure income stream and the ability to retain full control of the site – now expects the Seymour Street Homes subsidiary to take nominations directly from Westminster Council’s housing list.

A Westminster Council spokesperson said: “Viewings by nominated tenants to both the social housing and intermediate homes at Clarges Street are currently under way. It is expected that residents will be moving into their new homes by mid-February.”


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