For release on Tuesday 3 May 2016

KIER GROUP PLC

Kier launches "The New Communities Partnership" with The Cheyne Social Property Impact Fund and The Housing Growth Partnership

Kier Group plc ("Kier"), a leading property, residential, construction and services group, announces that its residential division, Kier Living, has agreed to establish a new partnership called The New Communities Partnership ("the Partnership"). This Partnership provides Kier with a capital efficient model to build with its partners approximately 10,000 new homes across the UK over the next five years.

The Partnership is a public-private alliance set up by Kier Living, The Cheyne Social Property Impact Fund, and the Housing Growth Partnership, a joint venture between Lloyds Banking Group and the Homes and Communities Agency, to work with the public sector to address the shortage of housing development in the UK.

It is estimated that more than 200,000 homes per annum need to be built to cater for market demand, whilst less than 145,000 units were completed last year. Furthermore, rents in the UK are increasing annually and approximately 1.4 million people are on local authority waiting lists. As such, this Partnership aims to be part of a long-term sustainable solution in residential development, working with local authorities and housing associations that own land and are seeking to accelerate house building. The Partnership's model will provide public sector clients with the potential to derive a revenue income from their land, whilst also offering wider social benefits including local job opportunities, apprenticeship schemes and graduate employment. 

The collective expertise of the partners spans procurement, funding, site assembly, construction, sales, management and maintenance, and these can be tailored to suit the needs and requirements of the individual public sector clients. Kier will be involved in the building, marketing and sales process as well as offering management and maintenance support where needed.

Haydn Mursell, chief executive of Kier, commented: "We believe this Partnership creates an excellent and capital efficient opportunity for the private and public sectors to work together to help address the UK's housing shortage. Kier Living's contribution to the Partnership will be its extensive experience of building and maintaining private and mixed-tenure residential developments across the country. We believe that the private sector has a significant role to play if we are to meet the government's house building targets."

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For further information, please contact: 

Kier press office                                                             +44 (0) 1767 355 903 / +44 (0) 7791 719452

Faeth Birch/Daniela Fleischmann (Finsbury)                     +44 (0) 20 7251 3801

Notes to Editors:

Kier and Kier Living

Kier Living, the residential division of Kier Group, brings together a wealth of resources and expertise to deliver housing projects nationwide. With an offering that spans a wide range of tenures, from open market sale and private rental to affordable rent and shared ownership.  Kier also has the capability to support every stage of the development cycle, from site identification and assembly, funding, planning and construction through to ongoing management and maintenance, disposal and renewal. Working in partnership with registered providers, government agencies, local authorities and the private sector, Kier Living creates aspirational and regenerated communities and brings fresh thinking to the design and delivery of housing solutions.  Current projects Kier Living is delivering with local authorities span the country ranging from providing 71 homes across three sites for Leeds City Council, a 300-home scheme for Birmingham Municipal Trust and the 250-home Hengrove Park development for Bristol City Council.

Cheyne Social Property Impact Fund

The Cheyne Social Property Impact Fund was launched by alternative asset manager Cheyne Capital in November 2014 in order to help tackle the chronic shortage of housing solutions for disadvantaged groups in the UK.

The Housing Growth Partnership

The Housing Growth Partnership (HGP) was established in July 2015 as a joint venture between Lloyds Banking Group and the Homes and Communities Agency, who have each committed an initial £50m to the initiative. The aim of the business is to invest equity in residential developments through partnering with housebuilders with a proven track record in land buying, design, construction and sales of new homes with the ultimate goal of accelerating the building of new homes across the UKThe Homes and Communities Agency is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Communities and Local Government.