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Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC) has kicked off a landmark 50-50 joint venture with The Crown Estate, the British royal family's independent commercial property business, to deliver up to 30,000 new homes and 900,000sqm of sustainable office and life sciences space across major UK regeneration projects worth up to £24 billion ($46 billion) in gross development value.
The impact partnership joint venture has initially transferred three major London regeneration projects - Euston Station, Silvertown and Stratford Cross - with Thamesmead and Birmingham expected to follow in the coming months.
Lendlease says establishment of the joint venture will see activity "quickly progress" with work due to start on an affordable housing offer at the 60-acre Silvertown development in the next few months and further delivery progressing alongside joint owner, the Greater London Authority, plus a planning application for Euston Station due to be submitted in FY27 .
The move comes just five days after Lendlease completed the recycling of its UK build-to-rent assets, offloading a 904-residence portfolio at Elephant Park in London to US property giant Greystar alongside partner CPP Investments for $260 million in cash proceeds to Lendlease.
Commencement of the Crown Estate joint venture immediately releases about $115 million of Lendlease capital, on top of a $50 million deposit the company received in June 2025.
Lendlease chairman John Gillam says the partnership represents a significant milestone for the group.
“Today’s announcement of this landmark partnership cr eates an industry leading alliance to unlock value within our high-quality UK development portfolio and repositions each project for long-term growth in our international Investments platform," he says.
“Importantly, the partnership will underpin delivery of complex urban sites in a manner structured to attract further private and institutional capital .”
The Crown Estate is one of the UK's largest property owners, managing a portfolio valued at more than £16 billion ($30 billion) that includes much of London's Regent Street and significant swathes of the country's seabed.
While it operates independently, its profits are paid to the UK Treasury each year.
The joint venture was first announced in May last year and endorsed by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, who at the time said the partnership "will help unlock economic growth, create jobs and build desperately needed homes across the country".
The pipeline figure of up to 30,000 new residential dwellings represents an increase from the 26,000 homes cited when the deal was first announced last year, reflecting the inclusion of new projects since then.
Since announcing the partnership, Lendlease says all parties have worked in close collaboration to progress the proposed projects, culminating in their inclusion in today’s announcement.
Lendlease will continue to serve as development manager across the transferred projects, maintaining its operational involvement while freeing up capital as part of its broader strategy to recycle assets globally.
The Elephant Park build-to-rent sale, completed on 25 June, saw Lendlease exit its interest in five residential buildings comprising 904 apartments.
Greystar, the world's largest operator of rental housing, acquired a 75 per cent interest in the Elephant Park portfolio, with CPP Investments retaining the remaining 25 per cent stake.
The back-to-back transactions in the space of a week underscore the pace of Lendlease's capital recycling program in the UK as the group shifts its focus under a restructured operating model.
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