The partners have committed to deliver a target of 3,000 multi-tenure properties across a five-year period across the country, which feeds into Legal & General’s commitment to deliver homes that are net zero carbon in operation by 2030.
Legal & General will focus on delivering new affordable homes, including shared ownership, social rent and affordable rent, and Lovell is bringing its open market and build expertise across all tenures. Furthermore, both organisations are looking to maximise opportunities for suburban build to rent, later living and off-site manufacturing, introducing their wider group resources.
The first scheme for the partnership will be The Junction, a brownfield site which has lain empty for over 20 years and was brought back into economic use through the skills and investment of Lovell and Legal and General, alongside Brownfield Land Fund Investment from the West Midlands Combined Authority and Affordable Housing Investment from Homes England. The development will deliver 234 energy efficient new homes of which nearly 50% will be for affordable housing via Legal & General with the remainder for open market sale by Lovell.
Mary Parsons, regeneration & partnerships director for Lovell Partnerships, said: “There is strength in partnership and collaboration – this approach is essential to meet the ambitious growth and sustainability goals of Lovell and Legal & General, as well as to support local authorities in the face of high demand for quality homes.
“Our work with Legal & General will mean sites are identified quickly with a combined pool of knowledge to then offer the optimum mix of tenures to drive both commercial and social value. Our aim is to invest for the long term and create not just the highest quality homes, but great places to live. This is already being demonstrated at our Fountain Lane development in Oldbury, now known as The Junction.”
Anette Simpson, director of development and partnerships at Legal & General Affordable Homes, said: “Since launching three years ago, Legal & General Affordable Homes has deployed institutional capital at scale delivering affordable homes across the country. Our development pipeline is now over 7,000 homes.
“Our new partnership with Lovell is a great example of how we collaborate with successful and ambitious partners to bring forward more affordable housing, combining resources to accelerate the delivery of derelict sites and make a real impact on housing provision.
"We hope to do more and more deals like this in future, as changes in Solvency II rules allow us to deploy further capital into this space. The Junction is an exemplar scheme to launch our partnership with Lovell, creating high quality homes which will have a significant social impact for the community of Oldbury.”
