Golding and Octopus Real Estate Complete Transfer of 180 Affordable Homes
In June 2024 Maidstone-based Golding Homes completed the sale of 180 affordable properties to NewArch Homes, a social housing provider owned by a fund that Octopus Real Estate manages. The homes, between two and six years old, are in Bexley, Dartford, Sevenoaks and Wealden, and comprise 111 affordable rent, 68 shared ownership and one leasehold house or flat. Southern Housing will manage them.
The deal was described as the first major deployment of the Octopus Affordable Housing Strategy, which funds new construction and buys existing high-quality stock to increase capital for affordable housing. Money from its first close in December was by then committed, with a large part invested.
Octopus's investment director Peter Merchant said the aim was to work with providers and councils to speed delivery, and that the sale lets Golding reinvest. Tom Casey, Golding's director of development and strategic asset management, said selling homes outside its core area had been a strategic goal, letting it concentrate on Maidstone and nearby. He pointed to work starting at Shepway, Maidstone, on 236 energy-efficient affordable homes with a new shopping area, and a £60m programme of improvements to existing homes over three years.
