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Listed developer registers as social housing provider
House builder Inland Homes has registered a wholly owned subsidiary as a provider of social housing.
Rosewood Housing, which is owned by the specialist brownfield developer, will be a for-profit registered provider which will develop, hold and manage affordable housing now that it has completed its two-year qualification period.
It plans to focus on housing provided under Section 106, both shared ownership and social or affordable rent.
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Shared ownership, Inland said, is of particular interest to the company, as it will provide visible income from residents buying more of a share in – or ‘staircasing’ – these homes.
According to the company, Inland is one of the first publicly listed companies to attain registered provider status, following ReSI Housing, the wholly owned subsidiary of the real estate investment trust ReSI.
Inland plans to amass an affordable housing portfolio through Rosewood, and then, when it achieves critical mass, it will partner with an institutional investor “to help deliver further portfolio growth”.
Stephen Wicks, chief executive of Inland, said: “This is a significant milestone for Inland Homes, which will accelerate our drive into the provision of much needed affordable housing in the South and South East of England, continuing the expansion and diversification of our revenue streams.
“Through our current partnership housing activities, the team now has a wealth of experience and knowledge of the UK social housing sector and this approach will complement our develop-to-sell strategy, leveraging the capabilities of our rapidly growing in-house construction division.”
The developer is following a trend in the sector of private companies establishing for-profit registered providers.
The world’s largest property investor, Blackstone, took the lead in this area in January, when it entered the UK affordable housing sector by funding the for-profit Sage Housing.
As well as the ReSI registration, the sector has also seen institutional investor Legal & General found its own for-profit provider, which aims to be the biggest for-profit in the sector.
