JK Assist Citi & AHTO £1bn Housing Investment in North East Of England & Cumbria

AHTO Group Ltd (AHTO) ‘Affordable Homes to Own’ has appointed Newcastle Upon Tyne based JK Property Consultants LLP, a leading property specialist in the North East of England and Cumbria, as part of AHTO’s focus on creating partnerships with local North East England and Cumbrian councils, developers and Housing Associations (HA) to facilitate the purchase of new build affordable home units at the earliest stage in the planning and development process.

The campaign in the North East of England and Cumbria follows the October 2021 announcement by AHTO of plans to invest £1 billion over the next five years in the UK housing market, acquiring new build residential units to provide Intermediate Rent-to-Buy (IRTB) or Intermediate Rent (IR) homes; purchased from local authorities, shared ownership or private sale housebuilders in cities and towns across the UK.

AHTO’s approach dovetails with the Government’s Levelling-up White Paper strategy, with partner Citi UK acting as a structuring advisor and financing arranger to institutional capital. Assisted by JK Property Consultants LLP, who have circa 50 years experience working in the region, AHTO will look across the North East of England and Cumbria at acquiring Intermediate Rent-to-Buy (IRTB) and Intermediate Rent (IR) developments or units, typically with a value of £40 million to £50 million, providing between 300 to 400 homes, with the partners looking at properties in areas north of Leeds close to Freeports in locations including Tees Valley, Durham, Tyne & Wear, Northumberland and Carlisle.

Freeports, established to encourage job creation and investment, will likely increase the need for affordable housing in adjoining area. AHTO intend to strategically look to transact in and around those areas, to help increase the economic growth, and will then lease the acquired stock to a HA partner who will secure tenants for the units.

The average time taken by a UK household to save for a deposit is now thirteen years with around 8.4 million people in the UK affected by an acute shortage of suitable housing. With the AHTO IRTB product, tenants pay affordable rents allowing them to save enough for a deposit and build their credit rating. When they are ready to buy, AHTO enable tenants to purchase at a significant discount to the property’s open market value (OMV). AHTO’s IRTB product allows tenants to transition to full home ownership at a demonstrably lower cost than shared ownership and breaks down deposit barriers, creating places and communities for people to call home.

AHTO, established in 2020 with a head office in London, is led by Managing Director, Linda Robinson, who has 25 years property experience in both the public and private sector and was previously Development Director at The Guinness Partnership.

AHTO provides an affordable IRTB product that supports Government, local councils’ and partners efforts to help thousands more people onto the housing ladder. Currently 40,000 affordable homes are built each year in the UK, versus an estimated 145,000 homes needed. AHTO partners with HAs and local authorities, empowering them to meet their affordable home deliverability targets and manage their existing stock sustainably, with a focus on the regeneration of communities through investing in design led good quality homes for everyone.

AHTO’s product has a positive social impact in terms of offering a real and cheaper alternative to current affordable home models. In addition, AHTO also support Women into Construction and apprenticeship programmes. Each partner or scheme AHTO funds benefits from both the Women into Construction and High Tide programmes. These programmes importantly encourage women, children and young adults into education and full-time employment.

Linda Robinson, Managing Director of AHTO says: “AHTO are pleased to have appointed JK Property Consultants LLP to work with us on our investment drive in the North East of England and Cumbria. Dovetailing with the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper strategy we are looking at acquiring properties in areas north of Leeds close to Freeports in order to help increase the number of genuinely affordable homes being delivered in the region.”

Kevan Carrick, Owner of JK Property Consultants LLP says: “We are delighted to have been appointed by AHTO to help create partnerships in the North East Region and Cumbria. Talks are already well advanced with a number of parties including local councils, housing associations, registered providers, and developers. We look forward to generating further interest from parties not yet in discussion with us.”