Packaged Living and Aviva Investors acquire residential site in Wixams, Bedfordshire

Packaged Living, a leading sustainable living specialist in the UK and Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, announces the forward funding of 133 homes in Wixams, Bedfordshire.

The latest investment, made by Aviva Investors Real Estate Active Long Term Asset Fund (‘REALTAF’), means that its UK single-family housing platform has now funded more than 1,500 new homes and represents a total commitment of almost £575 million.

It also marks the eleventh funding by Aviva Investors since launching its Partnership with Packaged Living in 2021 and is the Partnership’s second forward funding transaction with Barratt Redrow, which will be responsible for delivering the homes.

In keeping with other developments funded by Aviva Investors, the homes will incorporate a number of technologies to meet energy needs, including a combination of air source heat pumps, induction hobs, photovoltaic panels, battery storage and EV charging. Aviva Investors and Packaged Living have also stipulated that homes target an EPC ‘A’ rating. A proportion of the homes will be eligible for Octopus Energy’s ‘Zero Bills’ tariff, which enables customers living in homes featuring enhanced battery storage and solar panels provision to benefit from zero energy bills for ten years, backed by a ten-year guarantee from Octopus Energy.

Situated within the wider 750-acre Wixams masterplan development, which is expected to comprise approximately 4,500 homes, the 133 homes being funded by Aviva Investors are split between two to four bed homes, providing more than 133,000 sq ft of housing. When complete, the wider Wixams development will include schools, health centres, retail facilities, as well as sports facilities, parks, a new train station and community spaces.

Wixams is situated just two miles south of Bedford town centre, and benefits from good connectivity to both national road and rail networks which includes the nearby M1 motorway, whilst Bedford station offers a 40-minute commuting time to London. From 2026, a new Wixams railway station is expected to open, providing direct journeys to London St Pancras in 50 minutes.

Jonathon Ivory, Chief Investment Officer, Packaged Living, added:

“This is our second transaction with Barratt Redrow. Over 60 per cent of our investments are now with strategic partners with whom we enjoy programmatic relationships. This ‘rinse & repeat’ approach to the single-family housing business model reduces the time and cost of each transaction, the savings of which are then reinvested in growing the portfolio and solving for the government’s housing agenda. It also doesn’t hurt that Universal Studios just announced it will be developing Europe’s largest theme park on our doorstep. This multi-billion pound investment will create thousands of local jobs and provide our business plan with significant upside potential.”

Ben Sanderson, Managing Director, Real Estate, at Aviva Investors, said:

“We are pleased with the growth of our single-family housing platform, having set out with the initial expectation of funding 1,000 new homes. The living sector is a core part of our real estate investment strategy. Having already invested approximately £800 million into UK living, we have an ambition to grow that commitment significantly over the next three to four years. These investments show the role private capital can play in supporting the creation of new homes across the country, that can help the UK get ready for the future by combining high energy efficiency with modern technology, thereby lowering costs for families living in them, whilst also delivering long-term investment outcomes.”