The Hill Group, an award-winning housebuilder and SNG (Sovereign Network Group), one of England's largest housing associations, are expanding their strategic investment partnership to accelerate the delivery of much-needed new homes across England. The Sovereign Hill Partnership, formed in November 2023, has proven to be a highly successful model of joint venture delivery, combining Hill's expertise in high-quality development with SNG's commitment to addressing the country's growing housing challenges.

The partnership is now scaling up to deliver an even greater impact, with current and planned projects spanning multiple tenures and locations, and three new sites added to the portfolio in Bristol, Stevenage and Bracknell. These projects demonstrate the partnership's ability to combine resources and expertise to deliver high-quality developments at scale.

The first development agreed under the Sovereign Hill Partnership is Beaufort Park in Bracknell, where 226 new homes will be built. This includes 113 affordable homes delivered utilising Homes England grant funding, with the remaining homes available for private sale. Construction is set to begin in the early part of this year. 

In Stevenage, the partnership is contributing to a transformative masterplan led by Hill to deliver 592 new homes in the town centre. These homes will span a range of tenures, with the affordable housing provision managed through SNG. This project exemplifies the partnership's focus on placemaking, aiming to revitalise the area and create a vibrant, sustainable community.

In the South Bristol neighbourhood of Southville, the partnership will redevelop the site of the former Wills Tobacco Factory to deliver 106 new homes. This development, which has recently received planning approval, will feature a mix of family houses, apartments, and maisonettes, with 30% of the homes designated as affordable housing.

Andy Hill OBE, founder and Group Chief Executive of The Hill Group, commented: “Effective collaboration is key to all of our projects and our flourishing partnership with Sovereign Network Group is a prime example of partnership in action. We share a commitment to delivering much-needed new homes across England and, by combining resources and expertise, we can scale up delivery while improving quality. Our partnership with SNG is proving to be a game-changer for effective housing delivery and we are proactively looking for future sites to collaborate on."

Joe Marshall, Regional Managing Director (South) at SNG said: “SNG has set itself an ambitious target of delivering 25,000 new homes over the next decade. Achieving this requires bold thinking and innovative partnerships like the one with Hill. But the partnership model is not just about building more homes; it's about building better ones. In partnership with Hill, we can pool our strengths and resources, unlocking opportunities that would be unattainable on our own. By working together, we can not only aim to meet housing targets but also create places people will be proud to call home, showing that we are stronger together.”

As the Sovereign Hill Partnership continues to grow, more projects are in the pipeline, with the collaboration set to expand into new areas and tenures. This partnership highlights the power of innovative approaches to address the urgent need for high-quality housing and serves as a blueprint for successful joint ventures in the sector.

- ENDS –

About The Hill Group

The Hill Group is a top 10 housebuilder* and one of the leading developers in London, the home counties, and the South. The company is renowned for its partnership ethos, specialising in the building of distinctive new places and communities where people want to live, work, and socialise.

In its 25th year, this family-owned and operated company has grown to establish itself as the UK's second-largest privately-owned housebuilder, with an impressive and diverse portfolio of projects ranging from landmark, mixed-use regenerations, and inner-city apartment developments to homes in rural communities. 

Employing over 950 staff, the company operates from six strategically located regional offices including Bristol and Abingdon to help facilitate growth in the South West and the Midlands, with its head office based in Waltham Abbey, Essex. 

Hill completed 2,886 homes in the last financial year and has a controlled development pipeline of over 8,800 homes. Around half of its portfolio is in joint ventures to deliver a range of mixed-tenure developments, reflecting Hill's commitment to partnerships with government, local authorities, housing associations, and private clients. 

Since the company was founded in 1999, Hill has won over 500 industry awards, including the esteemed title of WhatHouse? Housebuilder of the Year in 2015, 2020 and 2023. Most recently in 2024, Hill won two silvers at the WhatHouse? awards for Best Large Housebuilder and Best Mixed-Use Development for Marleigh in Cambridge. Millside Grange in Croxley Green also won The Standard's Homes & Property Award for Best Commuter Home.

In addition, Hill's dedication to delivering the highest quality homes and exceptional customer service has earned the housebuilder its 5-star status in the Home Builders Federation's annual Customer Satisfaction Survey for the past seven years. With a score of 4.8 out of 5, Hill is also ranked as the number one housebuilder on Trustpilot.

Hill is donating 200 fully equipped modular homes to local authorities and homeless charities as part of a £15 million pledge through its Foundation 200 programme, launched in 2019 to mark Hill's 20th anniversary.

Follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram @HillGroupUK

For more information, contact The Oracle Group PR Agency on Tel: 020 8394 2821 or hill@oraclepr.co.uk

The Hill Group was listed within the top 10 of the Top 150 UK Contractors and Housebuilders published by Building.co.uk in December 2024

About SNG

SNG (Sovereign Network Group) is one of the largest housing associations, providing over 82,000 homes in areas facing some of the most acute housing need across London and the South of England, with an ambition to build an additional 2,500 homes a year by 2026. It was formed on 1 October 2023 through the bringing together of Sovereign Housing Association and Network Homes.

SNG is a leading builder of affordable homes, including for social rent, and it has a clear pathway to maximise its social and environmental sustainability through its ambitious Homes and Place Standard alongside its planned £100m Community Foundation.

SNG is a member of the G15 group of London's largest housing associations. The G15 is the collective voice of some of the leading organisations in the housing sector. Its members house one in ten Londoners and are the largest providers of affordable homes in the capital, building a quarter of all London's new homes, and owning or managing more than 600,000 homes.