Lovell and LiveWest agree £300m development deal
A joint venture deal has been struck between Lovell and LiveWest which will see them jointly acquire a development site in North Devon for delivery of up to 820 new homes.
The deal will see the 40,000-home landlord through its commercial arm, Westco Properties, jointly develop this 135 acre site in North Devon in joint venture with partnerships developer Lovell, the housing arm of FTSE250 listed construction giant Morgan Sindall.
The site benefits from outline planning consent and in addition to the new affordable housing for residents in North Devon, the development will also see improvements for the community with the delivery of a new primary school, neighbourhood hub and employment space as well as 27ha of new open space.
Ross Field, regional managing director of Lovell, said: “Lovell are delighted to have secured this fantastic scheme working in partnership with Westco Properties. It builds on the momentum we are creating in the South West to deliver high quality mixed tenure developments.
“The project will provide homes across all tenures, open spaces for community use & allocated land for future education & employment opportunities.”
Lovell and Westco plan to deliver at least 324 homes as affordable homes via delivery on behalf of LiveWest.
Simon Hawketts, director in charge at LiveWest, said: “We are committed to providing good quality, open market and affordable homes and creating thriving communities.
“Our exciting partnership with Lovell in North Devon will provide a fantastic opportunity for local people to access great affordable housing over the next 10 years.
“We are proud to play our part in meeting the housing crisis and in making lasting change in providing a home for everyone.”
Law firm Trowers advised on all aspects of the transaction led by real estate Partner, Jack Frier, and assisted by associate, Matt Rundle with input from the firm’s specialist support teams in planning, environmental, construction and tax.
Frier said: “We are passionate about the creation of much needed homes and to have been involved in creating the first partnership between two of our key clients in the region is fantastic. This transaction ultimately involved 15 separate principals and this alone required patience and pragmatism on all sides – it’s a brilliant result and we look forward to seeing the project come to life.”
