Riverside enters into 3,600 homes JV with Bovis Homes

Bovis has entered into a joint venture with social housing provider Riverside in order to deliver thousands of new affordable and social homes at the new Stanton Cross scheme near Wellingborough in Northamptonshire.

The development will eventually deliver 3,600 homes over the 15-year-long project.

The listed housebuilder had already been working with Riverside on elements of the scheme but the pair have now moved the relationship into a 50:50 joint venture.

Bovis said it had already completed 22 homes on the site last year, with construction originally kicking off back in 2015, since when around 150 homes have been built. 

In a statement Riverside said it had been in conversation with Bovis Homes during the past year “with a view to entering into a joint venture to deliver the remaining homes’ together with retail, leisure, office space, news schools, parks and open spaces”.

Riverside said affordable housing would be provided in line with the local planning authority requirements.

“At the present time a proportion of the homes will be social housing but the exact amount will be decided as the development evolves over the next 15 years,” it added.

Riverside said it would be reinvesting its profits from the joint venture into delivering more affordable homes.

Bovis said it had transferred gross assets totalling £102.6m relating to the development, including land and work in progress, into the JV.

It had paid for the assets via equity of £33.1m from both JV partners, plus an existing £36.4m Homes England loan, also transferred from Bovis into the JV.

Greg Fitzgerald (pictured), Bovis’ chief executive, said the tie-up with Riverside was “a great example of our land-led strategy and working in partnership, in particular with housing associations, on our larger developments”.