Morgan Sindall’s place-making subsidiary Muse has teamed up with the Pension Insurance Corporation and Homes England to establish a £54m joint venture called Habiko to bring forward 3,000 affordable homes for the rental market
Over a 12-year operating period, Habiko expects to unlock institutional investment and become self-funding.
It is also promising rents set at 20% below local market rates. The homes will be built across England in areas of high demand for this type of housing.
Muse managing director Phil Mayall said: “The government has set out a bold and ambitious challenge to deliver a significant number of new affordable homes over the next five years. Working together with PIC and Homes England, we can bring together our collective resources and unique experience to deliver thousands of low carbon and low energy homes which, by working alongside our local partners, meet the needs of communities across the country.”
Pension Insurance Corporation chief executive Tracy Blackwell said: “Meeting the UK’s affordable housing needs is a challenge that is best met through effective collaboration between government, developers, and private investors. Habiko is a great example of public-private partnership, which brings forward thousands of low-carbon, low-energy affordable homes. PIC has invested around £4bn in social and affordable housing to date, helping provide the secure, long-dated, inflation linked cashflows to back the pensions of its policyholders over coming decades, creating considerable social value.
Homes England chief executive Peter Denton said: “Attracting institutional investment into the housing sector is critical to build the new homes the country needs. This partnership supports our partners’ objective to deliver low carbon, low energy, affordable homes, bringing together the technical expertise and capability of Muse with the financial capacity of one of the UK's largest pension fund insurers, cementing PIC as a significant force in delivering affordable housing.”
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