The new vehicle, called Hestia, is backed by capital investment from the government’s housing agency and the FTSE 250 builder and also aims to boost work by small housebuilders.

The agency says the venture will focus on the development of “high-quality, mixed-tenure communities of between 400 to 3,000 homes at pace and scale”, which will contribute towards the government’s commitment to build 1.5 million homes in this Parliament.

The move follows the June launch of the National Housing Bank, backed with £16bn of taxpayer’s cash, which aims to fund over half a million new homes. The bank also plans to unlock a further £59bn of private sector investment in UK housing. 

Housing and planning minister Matthew Pennycook (pictured) says: “By mobilising private capital alongside government investment, this significant new joint-venture will bring forward more high-quality, mixed-tenure developments and deliver thousands of new homes to buy and rent.”

Vistry chief executive of partnerships & regeneration Stephen Teagle adds: “Our intention is also to pilot selling a proportion of de-risked land parcels to small and medium-sized housebuilders, helping to increase the availability of land and stimulate growth among smaller developers.”

Homes England chair Pat Ritchie points out: “As the government’s housing and regeneration agency, one of our key responsibilities is to unlock strategic housing sites by working with both the public and private sector to bring them forward at pace and scale, helping to meet the government’s housing targets.”     

Homes England has signed the agreement with Countryside Properties, a unit of Vistry.