UK landlords approach Vestia

Vestia, the largest housing association in the Netherlands, plans to sell 15,000 homes over 10 years after suffering major losses in derivatives deals. The organisation needs to pay back €1.3 billion after it lost €2 billion earlier this year in interest rate swaps which went wrong.

Ronald Florisson, a spokesperson for Vestia, confirmed that English housing associations had already approached the group and expressed an interest in buying stock. However, he would not name the organisations.

‘Parties involved ask for confidentiality. Disclosing their names would harm the negotiations,’ he said.

Mr Florisson added that Vestia would first look to sell empty homes on the market. It would then look to sell parts of Vestia, or Vestia blocks of homes, to other housing associations, either at home or abroad.

However, Corné Koppelaar, a Dutch housing consultant who represents associations across Europe, said Vestia did not wish to talk to him at the present time.

‘The [Dutch housing] regulator, and Vestia, first would like to sell those dwellings to Dutch housing associations,’ he said.

‘There are housing associations in England and other countries interested in international expansion.

I need to know if there’s something available [and if so] under what conditions.’

Circle, which has a German residential property fund, said it had not approached Vestia as investing in stock in other countries ‘is not a priority’.

A spokesperson for the 65,000-home organisation said: ‘That doesn’t mean to say we would not explore other investment opportunities to bring money back into the UK.’