Mill Group will work alongside housebuilder Bovis Homes to build 110 houses and 80 apartments across six sites in locations including Horsham, Bristol, Southampton and Cambridge.
The government set up the Build to Rent fund in 2012 to cut risk for developers looking to invest in homes built specifically for private rent. The scheme gives management companies the chance to invest in new rental developments and developers can then repay the government investment. Chancellor George Osborne increased the fund from £200m to £1bn in the 2013 Budget.
"Millions of people use the flexible option of renting in the private sector. I want to ensure tenants have a choice of high-quality homes, rented under reasonable terms," said Hopkins in a statement. "So I’m pleased that this deal is complete to build 190 homes across 6 sites specifically for private rent."
Hopkins said that, with more sites being considered for a share of the fund, the government is "well on track to have work underway on 10,000 homes for rent by 2015".
"This new joint venture forms a key part of our strategy to build a significant private rented sector portfolio and demonstrate our commitment to structure, source, finance and invest in the right opportunities," said Mill Group chief executive David Toplas.
"There is a significant, well recognised shortage of homes and an ever-growing need for good quality, affordable rental accommodation, and this deal will help tackle that. We are delighted to play our part to encourage greater institutional investor participation, ultimately helping spur an increase in supply of private rental homes," Toplas added.
