LARKFLEET STRENGTHENS RELATIONSHIP WITH HEYLO HOUSING

Housebuilding and development company Larkfleet and Heylo Housing have signed a five year contract to deliver affordable shared ownership homes across the country.

Heylo is a residential property company which is backed by a local authority pension fund investment. It has been set up to help deliver much-needed affordable housing in the UK, operating in much the same way as a housing association.

Larkfleet has entered into this long-term agreement to help meet its obligations to provide affordable housing on sites where it is developing new homes for sale.

Initially, the agreement covers Larkfleet’s key operational areas of Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Rutland but both parties recognise the potential of expanding the contract to link with Larkfleet’s recently announced plans to expand across the south west, Norfolk and Suffolk.

Since launching in September 2014, Heylo has been contracted to deliver over 1,500 shared ownership affordable houses across the UK. So far it has acquired more than 500 properties in twenty five local authority areas, has approvals from over 40 local authorities and is in discussions to meet the remainder.

The contract with Larkfleet is one of a number of agreements Heylo has entered into since its launch. It aims to sign a series of contracts with national and regional house builders to help them satisfy their ‘Section 106’ obligations – legal agreements under which companies must provide affordable housing as well as homes for sale.

Heylo has called this initiative ‘Home Reach’. It is a nationwide shared ownership model that delivers up to 90 per cent of the open market value (OMV) to the developer at the point of sale on either Section 106 or open market properties.

The benefits of this types of agreement are far reaching.

• For developers such as Larkfleet, Home Reach provides the company with full control over construction, specification, delivery and sales of shared ownership affordable housing properties with the benefits of contractual certainty and the ability to meet Section 106 obligations.
• For local authorities, shared ownership offers greater affordability than other options.
• For buyers, ownership is available at flexible levels and at attractive affordable rates. Home Reach is helping potential home owners take their first steps onto the housing ladder.

The agreement with Heylo will help to underpin Larkfleet’s development and growth plans with a partner which brings certainty, simplicity and reliability over a five year period.