Lloyds Bank’s plans to build ‘thousands’ of rental homes prove over optimistic

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Lloyds has grown its rental portfolio to 1,000 properties and has another 700 in the pipeline as it bids to become one of the UK’s biggest landlords, albeit far off its original objectives.

The bank has some way to go if the publicly-owned institution is to meet its target of buying and operating 10,000 homes under its Citra Living brand by the end of 2025.

When it launched in 2021, Lloyds boasted that it intended to acquire 50,000 build-to-rent properties by 2030 which would oust Grainger as the nation’s number one.

Grow and build

A spokesman tells LandlordZONE that Citra Living, “continues to grow and build relationships with significant UK homebuilders under a strategy of helping more people live in the kinds of homes they want in the places they want to live”.

He adds: “Citra has a healthy pipeline of future properties with locations such as Scotland, Wales and the East Midlands, covering more than 700 homes.”

Citra operates 1,000 homes in locations including Chesterfield, Yate, Ashford (main picture) and Brentford, and those under development include Northumberland, Cramlington, and Gaydon. Last week it bought 124 BTR apartments at a regeneration project in Warley.

Shared ownership

Earlier this year, the firm launched a pilot shared ownership scheme – Pathways by Citra Living – in 26 BTR properties at Keepmoat’s Coney Green development in Derbyshire. The scheme aims to help would-be homeowners, who can buy between 25% and 75% of their home and rent is charged on the balance.

It’s not always plain sailing for large financial institutions looking to diversify into property; John Lewis’s rental property boss Chris Harris resigned last week after playing a key role in the retailer’s plans to expand into rental housing, with a target of constructing 10,000 new homes.

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