South East housebuilder Elivia Homes is embarking on a period of significant growth following its acquisition by funds advised by Octopus Investments. Elivia Homes, which formerly operated as Vanderbilt Homes and Crayfern Homes, was acquired from its majority shareholder.
Octopus will provide growth funding to enable Elivia Homes to expand its Central and Southern regions. Elivia Homes aims to grow into a £250m turnover business, delivering over 600 design-led and sustainable homes in aspirational locations per year. Elivia Homes will construct over 200 quality affordable homes per year for families and households in the region who are facing the challenges created by the UK's housing crisis. Elivia Homes' growth plans will see significant investment in new jobs, with an estimated 1,000 new positions to be created in the business and across its supply chain inside the next 5 years.
Elivia Homes launched its new brand identity and corporate strategy in April 2022, setting out a focus on sustainable growth, driven by an ambitious land acquisition programme, investment in digital technologies, commitment to skills and training and a drive to offer the very best service to its customers. The business is also focusing on sustainable development by investing in innovative fabric-first design and offsite building methods, while continuing to maximise the biodiversity and energy efficiency of its schemes and enhancing the communities in which it builds.
Elivia Homes will continue to be run by the existing senior leadership team of CEO Chris Chiles, COO Kamal Grewal and CFO Iain Brown.
Chris Chiles, chief executive of Elivia Homes, comments: "Securing new investment partners marks the next stage of the Elivia Homes journey and provides a springboard for growth. We have a clear vision to further develop our reputation as one of the most trusted and admired homebuilders across the South East, while scaling our sustainable developments with carefully designed homes that will help people and places thrive."
"With the support of our new shareholders we have a clear path for expansion, and I am incredibly excited at the prospect of working with a group as innovative as Octopus, alongside our fantastic team, to make a meaningful impact on the UK property market."
Rory Baird, Director of Corporate Development at Octopus Group, comments:
"We look forward to working with Chris Chiles and his team to accelerate the growth of Elivia Homes. Elivia Homes is well-positioned to scale up and increase its delivery of high-quality, design-led and sustainable housing to meet the UK's urgent need for more new and affordable homes. Octopus is a long-term investor which continues to back ambitious, experienced management teams to develop great companies across a range of critical sectors including real estate, sustainable infrastructure, energy and technology."
Octopus is already a well-established investor and lender in the UK specialist real estate market through Octopus Real Estate, which is part of Octopus Group and manages a range of activities on behalf of institutional investors and retail clients. Octopus Real Estate specialises in residential development, commercial lending, as well as investment into care homes, retirement living and, more recently, affordable housing.
Earlier this month Octopus announced its entry into the affordable housing sector via the acquisition of a Registered Provider (RP) of Social Housing. It aims to accelerate the delivery of high-quality, genuinely affordable homes working in partnership with Housing Associations and Local Authorities.
Separately, Octopus recently announced a partnership with Homes England, the Government's housing delivery agency, to create the Greener Homes Alliance. The Alliance will commit £175 million, providing both development loan finance and expert support to SME house builders, enabling them to build more high quality, energy efficient homes throughout England.
Jan Crosby, Head of Corporate Finance at Savills, advised on the transaction. Jan Crosby comments:
"We are delighted that an investor of Octopus' calibre and ethos has chosen to back Elivia Homes' expansion."
For further information on Octopus Group, visit www.octopusgroup.com
