Deal will see Telford scheme built as part of £700m partnership agreement

Global asset management firm Aviva Investors and build-to-rent developer Packaged Living have signed a deal to acquire and develop 195 homes in Shropshire. 

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The development in the West Midlands town of Telford will include 148 semi-detached properties, nine terraced and 38 detached.  

This is the first investment the £700m partnership, which was announced in November last year, has made. The two companies have pledge to build at least 1,000 family homes to rent in the South west, South east and the Midlands. They also aim to create a single-family rental platform of suburban properties in the UK and develop homes that have an EPC-A rating. 

James Stevens, head of real estate investment at Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of insurers Aviva, said: “As one of the UK’s largest investors in real estate, property and infrastructure, it is hugely important that – consistent with our values – we make a material contribution to the transition towards a low-carbon future, using our size and influence to create meaningful change.” 

Jonathon Ivory, managing director of Packaged Living, added: “We believe single family rental is the next chapter in the evolution of the built-to-rent story and we are really excited to be working with our partners Aviva Investors to prove this concept.

“Our first project will not only provide much needed housing to the local area, it will also demonstrate our commitment to deliver properties that are fit for the future, combining high quality finishes with high energy efficiency, low carbon solutions and importantly lower costs for the families that will live there.”

The Telford development will provide over 179,000 sq ft of family housing and the homes will form part of the wider Charlton School development on the site of a former secondary school, owned by housebuilder Vistry Partnerships. 

Aviva Investors’ wants to achieve net zero across the entirety of its £47bn real assets business by 2040 and plans for all homes constructed by the partnership to use air source heat pumps and to be powered by electricity only. 

The development will include electric vehicle charging for every dwelling with an associated parking space.