L&G buys 200 affordable homes at Arada’s Southwark regeneration scheme

Arada, which is developing the site with consultancy Shaw Corporation, said the scheme will create a “more vibrant high street” along Old Kent Road, with a grocery store, a cafe and other student amenities. It also features a community hub that will provide free, bookable space for residents.

Arada said the deal is “another deployment of institutional capital into London’s constrained affordable housing market”.

Funding is in place and planning permission is secured, meaning construction at Devonshire Place can begin.

Pete Cross, chief operating officer at L&G Affordable Homes, said: “Our aim has always been to deliver great quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable homes that people can build a great future from.

“Devonshire Place is an excellent example of how we are able to work with forward-thinking partners and deploy institutional capital to deliver truly affordable homes where they are needed most.”

Jonathan Seal, chief executive of Arada London, said: “Progression from consent to site has become the critical test for London schemes. Bringing L&G into Devonshire Place secures the funding and long-term ownership structure needed to move forward.

“This is about execution, not aspiration. Devonshire Place brings together student living, affordable housing and everyday civic infrastructure in a way that reflects London – dense, mixed and economically active.”

Helen Dennis, cabinet member for new homes and sustainable development at Southwark Council, said: “Devonshire Place is a great example of how we generate community benefit from development. 

“Thanks to Southwark’s Council’s strong planning policies, this scheme will deliver 200 social rented homes for local residents on our housing waiting list, as well as a community hub and extensive greening.

“Schemes like this are crucial for delivering the new homes and jobs that we need to see along the Old Kent Road, ambitions that can be fully realised once there is agreement on the Bakerloo Line extension.”

Arada entered the London development market in 2025 after it acquired developer Regal. It currently has a pipeline of 16,000 homes in the capital, focused on market sale, PBSA and co-living.

Last month, L&G bought the Lambeth Hospital site in south London to deliver 700 build-to-rent homes in a joint venture with PGGM and Nest.

Recently, Inside Housing Living interviewed Dan Batterton, head of housing at L&G, about his plans to scale the group’s housing portfolio to £10bn in assets under management by 2030.