Lloyds Bank Has Plans To Be A 50,000-Unit PRS Giant

Lloyds Banking Group played down the launch of its private rented sector residential business last month. But a job advert for the new business indicates that its ambitions in the sector could be very, very big.

An internal job posting for Citra Living said the new business had a strategic challenge of reaching 10,000 units by 2025 and 50,000 by 2030, the Financial Times reported.

That latter figure would see it dwarf the current largest players in the sector. The largest private rented residential owners are London & Quadrant, Sigma Capital and Grainger, according to data from Savills. Each has about 9,000 units. By 2030 they will grow, but Sigma’s target, for instance, is 20,000 units, far lower than that of Lloyds. 

The job advert said if Citra had 10,000 units, that would give its portfolio a value of £4B and generate income of £300M. It added it would consider acquisitions and M&A opportunities to reach its targets.

The main way Citra will build its portfolio is buying units from housebuilders looking to remove risk from schemes by selling some of the homes in bulk to rental landlords. At its launch, it announced a partnership to buy units from Barratt.

Citra’s first completed development will be Fletton Quays in Peterborough where 45 apartments will be available for renters over the coming weeks, it said at last month’s launch. The aim is to acquire around 400 properties by the end of the year and to double that target next year, it added.

Its longer-term ambitions appear to be much greater. To hit a target of 10,000 homes by the end of 2025 it would need to almost double its number of units every year. 

Lloyds has moved into the sector to diversify its business, the FT said. With interest rates at record lows, mortgage lending isn't as profitable as it once was.