Homes England has partnered with Countryside Properties, a subsidiary of Vistry Group, to establish a long-term investment joint venture (JV) to expedite the development of large sites across England.
The partnership, named Hestia, is supported by a total capital investment of £150m ($203.58m) from both Homes England and Vistry.
Hestia will deliver mixed-tenure housing projects, linked to the UK government’s plan to build 1.5 million homes during the current parliament term.
Hestia will identify large sites, provide infrastructure, and oversee residential projects ranging from 400 to 3,000 homes each.
This initiative follows the government's announcement in December 2024 regarding a £700m extension to the Home Building Fund.
The venture comes ahead of the planned launch of the £16bn National Housing Bank, which is expected to enable an additional £59bn in private-sector investment for housing in the UK.
UK Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) Matthew Pennycook said: “Rapidly growing the pipeline of large mixed-tenure sites across the country, making more use of modern methods of construction, and backing SME [small and medium-sized enterprise] house builders are all essential to achieving our Plan for Change target of building 1.5 million homes in this parliament.”
Vistry Partnerships & Regeneration CEO Stephen Teagle said: “By co-investing with Homes England, Vistry are upscaling the delivery of mixed-tenure communities - Vistry is not just building homes - we’re investing in the future of communities across the UK and supporting our focus on social value including developing social and affordable housing.”
Homes England chair Pat Ritchie CBE said: “As the government’s housing and regeneration agency, one of our key responsibilities is to unlock strategic housing sites by working with both the public and private sector to bring them forward at pace and scale, helping to meet the government’s housing targets.
“This joint venture with Vistry Group will do just that, by targeting large sites capable of delivering up to 3,000 new homes in well-designed communities, while continuing to support SME house builders in achieving their own growth ambitions.”
