(London) – Aviva Investors, Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, announces it has completed the forward funding of 189 new single-family homes in Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire, as part of its partnership with Packaged Living (‘Packaged’), the UK’s leading sustainable living specialist.
This investment marks the 10th single-family housing development by Aviva Investors and Packaged Living, increasing the total fund commitment to more than £500 million, since launching a partnership with Packaged Living in 2021.
Formed by a mixture of 177 two, three and four-bed houses, as well as 12 two-bed apartments, the 189 new homes sit within Phase One of Linmere, a 610-acre major mixed-use masterplan development situated on the north-west outskirts of Houghton Regis, being delivered by Land Improvements Holdings (‘LIH’). Once complete, the wider scheme at Linmere is expected to comprise more than 5,000 residences, whilst also featuring 1.5 million sq ft of commercial space and resident amenities, including schools, parks, health centres, a supermarket, sports facilities and community spaces.
The community will be constructed by Dandara Homes, making this the partnership’s fifth single-family-housing development to be delivered by Dandara, with previous projects in Dartford, Braintree, and two in Milton Keynes.
As with other properties in Aviva Investors’ UK single family housing platform, houses will target an EPC ‘A’ rating and meet a minimum EPC ‘B’ rating as well as a BREEAM Residential accreditation. With a focus on maintaining their relevance into the future, each home will feature all-electric solutions, including air-source heat pumps, whilst every house will feature its own EV charging infrastructure. The specification includes photovoltaic panels and battery storage, as well as provision to deliver ‘zero-bills’ homes in partnership with Octopus Energy, meaning residents in qualifying homes will benefit from zero energy bills for 10 years.
The local area has good connectivity, sitting in close proximity to national road and regional rail networks, with Luton airport just ten miles away. The area also benefits from a 40-minute travel time to London.
James Stevens, Head of Real Estate Investment at Aviva Investors, said:
“With more than £500 million already invested in UK single-family housing, this is another example of our ambition to deploy more into the sector. We are very pleased to support the delivery of new homes at Linmere and to contribute towards the creation of a new, amenity-rich community for residents. By making energy-efficiency a central feature of these homes and making use of modern heating solutions, we believe this is another example of how our investment activity can help families get ready for the future whilst also delivering long-term outcomes for our investment portfolio.”
Jonathon Ivory, Chief Investment Officer, Packaged Living, added:
“Investor and consumer demand for sustainable single family rental housing continue to occupy two sides of the same coin. The Government’s mission to deliver 1.5 million new homes during this parliament is a call to action shared by all developers, irrespective of tenure, including and especially build-to-rent specialists like Packaged Living.”
Simon Pendlebury, Managing Director at Dandara Northern Home Counties, said:
“This will be our fifth development delivered in partnership with Aviva Investors and Packaged Living, and this alone underscores the importance of providing these homes to much needed communities. Previous projects similar to this have delivered modern, energy-efficient homes to rental markets, and we expect Linmere to be no different. We look forward to unlocking rental homes for those in the Houghton Regis community, with investment in single-family housing a fundamental element of our long-term strategy at Dandara.”
