Lloyds Banking Group’s Built To Rent division, Lloyds Living, has quietly become one of the UK’s largest private landlords, with its portfolio now valued at approximately £2 billion. Since its launch in 2021, the group has acquired around 7,500 properties, a 50% increase in stock over the last year. Although the bank will fall short of its original goal of acquiring 10,000 homes by the end of 2025, its rapid expansion already places it just behind major landlords such as Legal & General, M&G, and Grainger. The bank says the expansion is aligned with its strategic aim of increasing access to good-quality, affordable housing nationwide while diversifying its income streams.
The group recently appointed Matt Burgess as the permanent CEO of Lloyds Living. Burgess, who has been acting CEO since earlier this year, joined Lloyds in 2021 after extensive experience in property consultancy at JLL and investment roles at HSBC. His background also includes co-founding a property technology start-up, bringing significant expertise to the growing residential division. Lloyds Living is now focusing solely on the Build To Rent sector, reflecting a strategic decision to specialise in this segment of the private rental market.
In a further move to introduce social purpose into private renting, Lloyds has launched Good Place Lettings, a joint venture funded by Lloyds and the National Lottery Community Fund, which aims to improve the quality and social impact of rental housing in London. This initiative underscores the bank’s broader commitment to tackling housing challenges beyond pure investment.
Lloyds Banking Group continues to play a substantial role in the wider UK housing market. As the country’s largest mortgage lender, it has supported around 65,000 first-time buyers in 2024 alone and has provided approximately £100 billion in mortgage financing since 2018. Through partnerships with Homes England and Barratt Developments, Lloyds is also helping deliver tens of thousands of new homes to meet rental demand. In addition, the group has committed £200 million to assist smaller local housing providers, particularly those supporting vulnerable populations such as the homeless and people with special needs.
The bank is also pioneering redevelopment projects to convert decommissioned office and data centre sites into social housing. The first project in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, is set to create up to 80 new homes for social rent, reinforcing Lloyds’ dedication to addressing urgent housing shortages and raising the supply of affordable homes.
Looking ahead, Lloyds has ambitions to become the UK’s largest private landlord by 2030, with a target of owning 50,000 homes, potentially expanding its portfolio value to £4 billion. This strategy, if realised, would place Lloyds ahead of the current largest private landlord, Grainger, which holds approximately 9,100 properties worth around £2.1 billion.
Recent acquisitions highlight Lloyds Living’s ongoing growth, such as the purchase of 821 homes across Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and the West Midlands from a joint venture between Sigma Capital Group and Gatehouse Living Group. These homes, featuring family-sized properties and apartments with high energy performance ratings, boast a 99% occupancy rate and access to local amenities, reflecting the division’s focus on quality rental housing.
Overall, Lloyds Banking Group is steadily solidifying its position in the UK’s private rental sector while integrating socially responsible initiatives and wider housing market support, demonstrating a multi-faceted approach to addressing the country’s housing needs.
📌 Reference Map:
- [1] (Landlord Today) - Paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 6, 9
- [2] (Financial Times) - Paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 6
- [3] (Lloyds Banking Group) - Paragraph 4
- [4] (Lloyds Banking Group press release) - Paragraph 5
- [5] (The Independent) - Paragraph 7
- [6] (The Business Desk) - Paragraph 8
Source: Noah Wire Services