The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has confirmed A2Dominion and Catalyst as new strategic partners with City Hall, allocating them and two other existing partners a total of £288 million to deliver almost 5,000 additional new affordable homes.

The additional allocations announced today are from the £1.67 billion Sadiq secured from Government for London in the Spring Statement, and will go towards his target to start 116,000 affordable homes by March 2022.

All of the 4,705 new affordable homes are due to start before March 2022, with 3,250 based on social rent levels and 1,449 London Living Rent or London Shared Ownership.

A2Dominion now has an overall starts target of 2,184 affordable homes by March 2022. Catalyst now has an overall starts target of 1,671 affordable homes by March 2022.

Alongside these new Strategic Partners the Mayor has confirmed additional allocations for two existing Strategic Partners– L&Q and Optivo. All of these are in addition to previously confirmed allocations. The new allocations are broken down as:

• £114.4m for L&Q to deliver 2,000 new affordable homes.
• £80m for the London BME consortium (led by L&Q) to deliver 1,000 new affordable homes
• £57.2m for Optivo to deliver 1,000 new affordable homes
• £22.3m for Catalyst to deliver 455 new affordable homes

These allocations are being confirmed ahead of the initial bidding deadline of 30 September. Additional allocations will be confirmed after that date and it is not too late for new proposals to be submitted to the GLA. Funding guidance for the affordable homes programme 2016-21 can be found here - https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/addendum_to_ahp_2016-21_funding_guidance_18_june.pdf

The strategic partnerships offer flexible funding conditions to housing associations that are willing to build at least 60 per cent affordable homes on new developments. A2Dominion and Catalyst join seven other strategic partnerships, formed in response to the Mayor's first call for bids to the record-breaking £4.82 billion affordable homes fund he secured from the government

The new partnerships bring City Hall's strategic partners to nine - Clarion, Hyde, L&Q, Network, Notting Hill Genesis, Optivo, Peabody, A2Dominion and Catalyst.

All homes will be built to the highest standards and expected to meet the design and sustainability standards set out in the London Plan. Like all new buildings in London, they must meet stringent safety standards set by government. Measures include means of warning and escape, sprinklers, fire detection and fire alarm systems. The Mayor also expects all partners to deliver a high standard of housing management and resident services. 

James Murray, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development said: “Thousands of Londoners are in desperate need of good quality, genuinely affordable homes, and it's fantastic the Mayor is now able to confirm allocations to deliver almost 5,000 more, including through two new strategic partners. Crucially, well over half of these homes will be based on social rent levels. Tackling the capital's housing crisis is one of the Mayor's top priorities, and he will continue to use all the powers and funding at his disposal to ensure that every Londoner has a place to call home that they can afford.  But he can only go so far without the Government stepping up – it is crucial that Ministers give councils and City Hall the resources and powers we need for a step change in the number of affordable homes we can build.”

Darrell Mercer, Chief Executive of the A2Dominion Group, said: “We are very pleased to have been confirmed as one of the GLA's strategic partners. The new funding will enable us to deliver thousands of affordable new homes across London and help address the capital's housing crisis.”

Paul Hackett, Chief Executive of Optivo said: “I'm determined that Optivo will play a bigger role in tackling London's housing crisis, but we can only do this in partnership. That's why this additional support from the Mayor is so welcome. City Hall's funding will enable us to create an extra 1,000 affordable homes, which are so desperately needed.”

“Tom Titherington, Executive Director of Property and Growth at Catalyst, said: “Our strategic partnership with the GLA is an example of Catalyst's commitment to deliver as many genuinely affordable homes for Londoners as we are able. The changed method of support from the GLA will be key to us to starting construction of over 1,600 new affordable homes before March 2021- a 12% increase on what we had previously planned.

“With the majority of the new homes set at social rent levels, we will be helping those that need it most, but the support of the GLA will also enable us to deliver those larger multi-tenure, mixed-income, place-changing projects so essential for London's long-term economic and social strength.”

David Montague, Chief Executive of L&Q, said: “London has always been L&Q's heartland and we are fully committed to addressing its unique housing needs. The strategic partnership we signed with the Mayor of London in April 2017 has already boosted our ability to deliver much-needed genuinely affordable homes in the capital, and also invest in construction skills and training. Now, this new funding agreement will take our joint ambition further and enable us to deliver even more.”

“By working together with a range of partners, we are building the genuinely affordable homes Londoners need while also guaranteeing more investment in apprenticeships, jobs, innovative methods of construction, economic growth, communities and homes for years to come.”

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