Preferred Homes’ chief executive Findlay MacAlpine sat down with Inside Housing Living editor James Riding to talk about the business’ growth ambitions, its partnerships with local authorities and to reflect on the policy and funding landscape that for-profit providers are operating in.
Preferred Homes stands out from the crowd of for-profit registered providers bringing private capital into UK affordable housing. It is investing £100m in affordable rent homes for older people, with a long-term ambition to invest £1bn. The backers are unique, too: it is ultimately owned by a pension fund for American teachers.
The developer and operator aims to build and own ‘extra care’ schemes, meaning affordable rent homes for older people with an element of on-site support. It became a for-profit registered provider in 2020, enabling it to use development grant from Homes England’s Affordable Homes Programme. It is backed by a £100m equity commitment from TIAA (Teachers Insurance Annuity Association), the US teachers’ pension fund.
“We are not investing in existing stock, we are bringing new stock to the sector,” says Findlay McAlpine, chief executive of Preferred Homes. “We saw an opportunity to meet demand in the later living space…”