Homes England invests £40m in joint venture with major asset manager and developer

Simon Century, chief investment officer at Homes England, said the aim will be to “develop high-quality, mixed-use residential schemes”.

He added: “Our investment in this joint venture is further evidence of our commitment to attract private capital to the residential market, while supporting small and medium developers in realising their own housebuilding ambitions.”

Asked where the homes will be built, the Homes England spokesperson said the partnership has a “national mandate”. Sites will be chosen based on “where development activity has the potential to act as a catalyst for wider place-based transformation so as to maximise social impact”.

The spokesperson added: “The joint venture will not look to acquire standing assets and instead will focus on development opportunities. There are no contractual obligations on the venture to acquire any sites at present, however the intention is to make the first acquisition in Q1 of 2026.”

SLAM and Capital & Centric are taking a combined 60 per cent stake in the venture, but the exact split and the amount of equity they are investing were not disclosed.

Zurich-based SLAM currently has around £259bn of assets under management and has investments in Switzerland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the UK, the Nordic countries and Italy. 

Jan Plückhahn, head of real estate at SLAM, said: “We look forward to bringing our financial strength and expertise, as one of Europe’s longest-standing financial institutions, to the partnership.”

Tom Wilmot, joint managing director at Capital & Centric, added: “The strategy is all about delivering high-quality neighbourhoods in a range of locations, not just core cities but also underinvested locations where the impact story is more compelling and the supply and demand dynamics are more favourable.”

The regeneration specialist is currently working on a string of schemes including the UK’s largest new town, Northstowe in Cambridgeshire, which is already backed by Homes England funding.