Gowling WLG has advised leading housing association Hyde Group on its new long‑term investment partnership with Legal & General (L&G) to accelerate the delivery of affordable homes across the UK.

The joint venture brings together pension capital within L&G's annuity portfolio and Hyde's national housing platform to develop, manage and service affordable homes at scale. The partnership launches with a seed portfolio of over 1,000 homes, spanning social rented and shared ownership tenures, with the ambition for further expansion.

Designed as a blueprint for how institutional investors and social housing providers can collaborate to address the UK’s affordable housing shortage, the model delivers stable inflation‑linked income for pension savers, measurable social value for residents, and reduced pressure on the public purse.

Hyde and L&G will jointly equity‑finance the partnership, which supports the long‑term delivery of high‑quality affordable homes nationwide; they will also enter into specialist service contracts to support the operation of the Partnership (including its For Profit Registered Provider subsidiaries).

As part of the transaction, Gowling WLG acted for the new partnership (comprising both Hyde Group and Legal & General Assurance Society (LGAS)) on the loan documentation, providing aligned corporate and financing support throughout.

The team was led by partners Sharon Ayres (Corporate/Real Estate Investment Structures) and Madeleine Clark (Real Estate Finance) with support from Frank Beeton, Raphaella Bojouri, Haseena Hussain (all Corporate), Danielle Klepping (specialist commercial contracts), Karnvir Nanra, Sarah Lambert, Gideon Liebowitz and Alice Grimley Evans (all Finance), Duncan Scott (Financial Services Regulation) and Matt Poole (Tax).

Sharon Ayres Corporate Partner at Gowling WLG, said: "This transaction reflects the seamless collaboration between specialists in our Corporate, Real Estate Finance, Commercial, Tax and Financial Services teams, who advised on the structuring, financing and loan documentation for both Hyde and LGAS. Bringing together these complementary areas of expertise was essential to delivering a robust long-term platform (featuring two For Profit Registered Provider subsidiaries and a REIT holding company) capable of scaling affordable housing delivery across the UK. We are proud to have supported a partnership that combines strong governance, long‑term investment and genuine social impact."

Rudi Hakiman, Head of Legal at Hyde Group, added: "This partnership represents an important milestone for Hyde as we continue to deliver high‑quality, affordable homes at scale. Transactions of this complexity require close collaboration, and Gowling WLG's clear, commercially focused advice was instrumental in ensuring we reached a successful outcome. Their ability to support both the corporate and financing aspects of the deal provided real value throughout the process."

Catherine Raynsford, Managing Director – stock acquisitions, L&G Affordable Homes, said: "Since establishing our affordable housing business in 2018, L&G has built a strong track record as a trusted leader in delivering high-quality, affordable homes across the UK. This new partnership with Hyde marks an exciting milestone, combining our heritage and expertise with an innovative approach that aims to attract institutional investment and accelerate the delivery of much-needed affordable housing nationwide."

Reena Patel, Client Relationship Partner at Gowling WLG, said: "We are grateful to Hyde Group for their continued loyalty as a key client of this firm and for giving us the opportunity to represent them in such an important transaction for Hyde and the sector as a whole. It is a testament to the quality of the leadership and deal teams at Hyde that they are able to bring partnerships of this nature to fruition."