Coventry social housing firm offloads property portfolio in £16m deal

Coventry-based social housing firm Orbit Group has sold 191 homes to Residential Secure Income plc (ReSI) which invests in affordable shared ownership, retirement and local authority housing, in a deal worth £16m.

The property portfolio comprises 180 houses and 11 apartments – both in shared ownership. ReSI now owns 549 homes.

Clarke Willmott advised Orbit which has been a client of the firm since January 2019. A multi-disciplinary team was involved in the transaction.

Vicky Kells, partner in the commercial property team specialising in the affordable housing sector, helped to lead the deal. She said: “We were delighted to work collaboratively with Orbit and Jones Lang LaSalle on this sale, which involved input from across our national social housing team, including property, leasehold and asset management, planning, corporate, charity law, tax and employment.

“It was great to support Orbit through the sale, which was part of its portfolio densification strategy, driving operational efficiencies for Orbit and supporting the delivery of more affordable new homes.”

Kary Withers, managing director of Clarke Willmott’s property services division, said: “This was a great outcome for our client and a fantastic effort by our multi-disciplinary team who worked hard to get it over the line. We look forward to continuing working with Orbit in the future.”