South Cambridgeshire District Council in the UK has formed two investment partnerships that will see up to GBP 340 million (US$ 440 million) invested to support the local recovery, through regeneration and development. South Cambridgeshire District Council has appointed the Top 20 housebuilder, Hill Group, in one investment partnership, and Balfour Beatty Investments, the international infrastructure investor, as a partner in another. This follows an extensive tender process that invited bids from suitably qualified and experienced partners with the resources, skills, and competencies to jointly invest in opportunities.

The two partnerships will acquire land for new homes, including Council and social rented properties, along with commercial developments and supporting services which will help to secure the local economy as it recovers from the Coronavirus pandemic. Both partnerships aim to generate long-term income streams for the Council.

The partnerships allow each party to benefit from the other’s skills, expertise, and knowledge and open-up bigger opportunities that may not have been possible without the advantage of working as a team. They also mean that the risk associated with investment is equally shared, along with profits.

The Council expects to contribute up to GBP 170 million (US$ 220 million) between the two partnerships during the next four years.

Identifying suitable land opportunities will be a core element of work done by the partnerships. Target sites are located within South Cambridgeshire and the wider travel to a work area, as determined by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Economic Review (CPIER).

The South Cambridgeshire Investment Partnership with Hill Group will build a range of high-quality, sustainable private sale and affordable housing and regeneration developments to support local communities and economies, as well as investment and income-generating opportunities for the Council. The broad range of potential developments to be delivered by the South Cambridgeshire Investment Partnership include Council and social rented homes, private sale homes, private rented sector (PRS) housing, senior and assisted living, estate regeneration, and mixed-use developments.

The partnership with Balfour Beatty, called South Cambridgeshire Projects LLP, will see mixed-use developments be identified within South Cambridgeshire and neighboring areas.