Annington Homes is a provider of privately rented homes in the United Kingdom,
specialising in converting former
Ministry of Defence
A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
(MoD) housing for the general public since 1996. Since 2012, the company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of
Terra Firma Capital Partners
Terra Firma Capital Partners Limited is a British private equity firm. Financier Guy Hands founded the firm in 2002 through the spin-off of Nomura Principal Finance Group. The firm, which traces its roots to the formation of its predecessor i ...
.
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]
History
In 1996, the MoD sold all its housing for military personnel and their families, 57,400 properties, to Annington Homes for £1.67bn as part of a broader process of privatisation of state assets, making Annington the largest owner of residential property in England and Wales.[ Annington Homes had been established earlier that year as a ]shell company
A shell corporation is a company or corporation with no significant assets or operations often formed to obtain financing before beginning business. Shell companies were primarily vehicles for lawfully hiding the identity of their beneficial ...
by Nomura Holdings
is a financial holding company and a principal member of the Nomura Group, which is Japan's largest List of investment banks#Largest full-service investment banks#Bulge Bracket#Membership, investment bank and Broker-dealer#Japan, brokerage group. ...
; Nomura's Guy Hands played a central role in the deal.[ The MoD lacked funds to maintain the properties, and intended to rent the homes from Annington at a discounted rate, while allowing the company to sell homes the armed forces no longer required.][
In 2012 Nomura sold Annington Homes to Terra Firma for £3.2bn. The rent per house paid by the MoD nearly doubled between 1997 and 2016, and in 2016 the MoD paid dilapidations of £21,809 on average when returning homes to Annington.][ As of 2017, around 20,000 of the 57,400 homes had been sold on.][ ]Kevan Jones
Kevan David Jones, Baron Beamish, (born 25 April 1964), is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for North Durham from 2001 to 2024. He has been a me ...
, who was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans under Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
, described the MoD's deal with Annington as "an incredibly bad deal for the taxpayer."[ Alan West, Baron West of Spithead, the former ]First Sea Lord
First Sea Lord, officially known as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS), is the title of a statutory position in the British Armed Forces, held by an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral or a General (United Kingdom), general of the ...
, said the armed forces had failed to understand the long-term consequences of the deal at the time it was made.[
In 2022, the MoD announced plans to use the ]Leasehold Reform Act 1967
The Leasehold Reform Act 1967 (c. 88) is an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, which concerns English land law and compulsory purchase. A government bill, the law remains largely intact. It was passed by both Houses and had been tabled ...
to reverse the privatisation deal and return the properties to public ownership.[
In December 2024, Annington agreed to sell 36,347 homes (the Married Quarters Estate) back to the MoD for £5.99 billion, ending the legal dispute. The deal ended a "huge annual rental bill", saving around £230m a year.]
References
External links
Annington Homes
Real estate companies established in 1996
Housing in the United Kingdom
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