England’s housing authority has announced a major new plan aimed at building more homes and attracting greater levels of investment. The housing delivery plan is built around six core objectives, most notably increasing housing supply and accelerating development across different tenures. Other goals include boosting innovation, attracting institutional investment, and expanding social and affordable housing.
Speaking to Property Week, Simon Century, Chief Investment Officer at Homes England, outlines the strategies for delivering this ambitious plan just months after taking up his role.
How the First Goal Will Be Achieved: Boosting and Accelerating Housing Delivery
Century points to the need to broaden tenure delivery across the housing ecosystem, with a strong focus on social and affordable housing. This is reflected in the agency’s management of nearly two-thirds of the government’s £39 billion housing programme. Homes England is also working to attract institutional capital—particularly from global markets—to support all forms of housing, whether for sale, build-to-rent, or affordable housing.
He added that coordination between national and local levels is essential, noting that the agency works closely with local and national investors as well as regional leaders to deliver projects through collaborative approaches.
Innovation, he stressed, is another critical driver of progress. Homes England is seeking to adopt new technologies and delivery methods to improve system efficiency, while focusing on the development and acceleration of emerging sub-tenure models to better support the wider market.
Supporting Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
Century explained Homes England’s role in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through a dedicated lending team within its investment group. This team provides loans to support companies that face challenges accessing finance from the open market. The aim is to speed up the recycling of capital for these businesses, enabling them to increase output.
He also highlighted the agency’s partnership with Lloyds Banking Group through the Housing Growth Partnership, which is designed to support SMEs with funding of up to £300 million.
Century reaffirmed Homes England’s commitment to enabling these businesses to scale up—either by working with larger developers to expand their activities or by supporting smaller firms to accelerate capital cycles and deliver more homes more quickly.
Attracting Institutional Investment
Century stated that one of the organisation’s core objectives is to attract institutional capital to support the housing system. To achieve this, Homes England is developing joint investment partnerships with international investors. He added that the presence of sovereign-style backing from Homes England enhances confidence among global investors and underlines the UK’s seriousness about attracting capital to develop the sector.
Managing the Budget for Social and Affordable Housing
Homes England manages £27 billion allocated to the social and affordable housing programme. This programme aims to deliver 300,000 new homes over the long term. To achieve this, the agency invests in providing direct financial support to companies and the residential sector, while also facilitating investment flows through a mix of loans and equity.
The New National Housing Bank
Regarding the announcement of the new National Housing Bank—established to finance the housing sector with £16 billion—Century confirmed that the bank is expected to officially begin operations in April, subject to approval from the relevant government bodies. The bank will provide capital, loans, and guarantees directly to the housing sector while generating a return for the government.
He added that the bank’s primary objective is to mobilise private capital to support the sector, which could help attract more than £50 billion in new investment.
