Kier joins with Lloyds, HCA for housing JV

Kier Group residential development subsidiary Kier Living has agreed to establish a long-term partnership with Lloyds Banking Group, the Homes & Communities Agency and investor Cheyne Social Property Impact Fund to deliver housing on local authority land.

The New Communities Partnership will provide Kier, the publicly listed company said on Tuesday, with “a capital efficient model to build with its partners approximately 10,000 new homes across the UK over the next five years.”

The statement to the stockmarket continued: “The partnership is a public-private alliance set up by Kier Living, the Cheyne Social Property Impact Fund, and the Housing Growth Partnership, a joint venture between Lloyds Banking Group and the Homes & Communities Agency, to work with the public sector to address the shortage of housing development in the UK….[This] partnership aims to be part of a long-term sustainable solution in residential development, working with local authorities and housing associations that own land and are seeking to accelerate house building. The partnership’s model will provide public sector clients with the potential to derive a revenue income from their land, whilst also offering wider social benefits including local job opportunities, apprenticeship schemes and graduate employment.”

Kier will be involved in the building, marketing and sales process as well as offering management and maintenance support where needed. Haydn Mursell, chief executive of Kier, said: “Kier Living’s contribution to the partnership will be its extensive experience of building and maintaining private and mixed-tenure residential developments across the country. We believe that the private sector has a significant role to play if we are to meet the government’s house building targets.”

Andy Hulme, chief executive of the Housing Growth Partnership, added: “The Housing Growth Partnership was formed to address the challenge of housing supply and affordability in Britain today. Working alongside Kier Living and Cheyne Capital through the New Communities Partnership should stimulate further growth in residential development projects and enhance access to affordable housing. The alliance will also complement our core purpose to accelerate home building throughout the UK.”