Lendlease sells out of retirement living and jumps into affordable housing
- Sector exit: Lendlease completes retirement living sale
- $525m deal: Aware Super buys final Keyton stake
- New focus: UK partnership targets $32bn pipeline
- First project: 326 affordable homes planned
Lendlease had been at the forefront of the Australian retirement living sector, owning and operating 75 villages with more than 13,000 homes.
In 2017, it began its exit from the sector, completing the process on 25 June this year when superannuation fund Aware Super paid $525 million for the diversified property developer’s remaining stake in what is now known as Keyton.
Six days later, Lendlease announced it had formed a joint venture with Crown Estate in the UK. The initiative, named the Impact Partnership Joint Venture, is estimated to have a gross development value of $32 billion.
The Crown Estate is an independent property portfolio belonging to the British monarchy, but managed on behalf of the nation and worth over £13.5 billion.
Andrea Ruckstuhl, Managing Director, Development, UK and Italy, Lendlease, said: “The commencement of the Impact Partnership Joint Venture Fund and creation of a new Development Management platform marks a major milestone for our UK business.
“Together with The Crown Estate, we’ve established a long-term vehicle to unlock some of the UK’s most important regeneration opportunities with a shared commitment to creating places that deliver lasting value for investors and communities.”
The joint venture’s first project will be the delivery of 326 affordable homes at the 24.3-hectare Silvertown development, with construction scheduled to begin in September.
Silvertown is the first of three major regeneration projects in the venture's initial phase, alongside Euston and Stratford Cross, which together have the potential to deliver up to 9,000 homes and 7.03 million square feet of commercial space.
