Grainger to fund 1,000 homes

Residential landlord Grainger and French construction group Bouygues are to launch a build-to-let residential fund that will finance more than 1,000 homes over the next three years.

As well as jointly investing in the project, dubbed the Bouygues and Grainger Fund, the firms intend to raise up to £150m from institutional investors.

Investors will receive a coupon-based return during the development and investment stages, and then a return based on capital appreciation.

The fund has already lined up four sites with permission for over 1,000 homes in Barking and Canning Town in east London, and in Maidstone, Kent.

At least two of sites were previously publicly owned, and are included in the Public Land Initiative which housing minister Grant Shapps announced last week.