Housing developer Vistry has formed a joint venture with Homes England, the Government’s housing and regeneration agency.

The new vehicle, Hestia, will be backed by a combined £150m worth of capital investment and focus on the delivery of mixed-tenure communities to contribute towards the Government’s commitment to build 1.5 million homes in the current Parliament.

Countryside Properties, which is part of Vistry, has signed the long-term investment joint venture with Homes England.

Hestia’s investment strategy will focus on identifying sites to bring forward new infrastructure and manage the construction of new communities of between 400 and 3,000 homes each.

Housing and planning minister, Matthew Pennycook, commented: “Rapidly growing the pipeline of large mixed tenure sites across the country, making more use of modern methods of construction, and backing SME housebuilders are all essential to achieving our plan for change target of building 1.5 million homes in this Parliament.

“By mobilising private capital alongside Government investment, this significant new joint-venture will bring forward more high-quality, mixed-tenure developments and deliver thousands of new homes to buy and rent.”

Chief executive – partnerships and regeneration at Vistry, Stephen Teagle, said: “By co-investing with Homes England, Vistry is 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.”

Chair of Homes England, Pat Ritchie, added: “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 housebuilders in achieving their own growth ambitions.”

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