Massive scale of Build To Rent revealed by top investor's figures

Legal & General Capital helped fund over 17,000 new homes last year across a range of tenures, chiefly Build To Rent. 

Chief executive Laura Mason says many of the schemes involved joint ventures, such as a 3,000 home partnership with Lovell and a 2,500 home partnership with Metropolitan Thames Valley Homes.

Last month it announced a joint venture to deliver 1,000 sustainable zero-carbon factory-made homes. Legal & General Modular Homes (LGMH) and affordable homes provider VIVID launched a five-year joint venture partnership to deliver over 1,000 highly sustainable, affordable modular homes; some of these will be Build To Rent.

In total the insurance giant has now invested £5 billion towards levelling up, and its 17-site Build To Rent programme looks mainly at family-friendly units in suburbs. 

Mason says: “2022 has been a landmark year for Legal & General Capital as we have made major commitments to deliver transformational schemes in all our alternative asset specialisms across both the UK and, for the first time, the USA. 

“Much of this has come through strategic partnerships with like-minded investors, who are seeking stable, long-term returns, but also looking to drive positive social impact and limit the impacts of climate change. With an increasingly uncertain picture over the next 12 months, it’s essential that financial institutions continue to invest in the real economy, recycling pensions funds and savings into projects that help to create jobs, housing and vital infrastructure. 

“Despite headwinds, our appetite to continue to invest globally, alongside other institutional partners, remains strong for 2023.”

L&G publishes what it calls the Legal & General Rebuilding Britain Index. 

The RBI was established to measure the UK’s progress in levelling up on a quarterly basis, surveying 20,000 people and tracking social and economic progress across 52 measures, including Health and Social Care, Education, Housing, Jobs & Economic Prosperity, Environment, Energy, Transport and Digital.