Placefirst has agreed two forward-funded deals with housebuilder Vistry to deliver 44 new single-family rental homes at Kidlington, Oxford and 80 at Norwood Farm, Northampton.
The transactions represent Placefirst’s second and third partnerships with Vistry following the announcement earlier this year of a deal to deliver 139 homes in Mansfield.
In Oxford, the 44-home scheme, due to complete in June 2026, will comprise a mix of high quality three- and four- bed rental houses with a GDV of £26 million. They form part of Vistry’s wider 370 home mixed-tenure masterplan at Kidlington, which is being delivered in collaboration with Cherwell District Council, and will also include new allotments, public open space, play areas and a sports pitch.
The deal marks Placefirst’s entry into the Oxford market and is located in the in-demand centre of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc’s growing science and tech economy; it denotes a further milestone in its national expansion.
Placefirst and Vistry’s Northampton development, which is due to complete between October 2026 and September 2027, will comprise 22 two-bedroom, 47 three-bedroom and 11 four-bedroom rental houses with a GDV of £29 million.
The homes will form a considerable part of the wider Western Gate community at the Norwood Farm Sustainable Urban Extension (SUE), a major new mixed-use development which is set to deliver 1,900 new homes across a range of tenures, alongside shops, cafés, healthcare centres, a new primary school, public open spaces and children’s play areas.
For both schemes, Placefirst will provide end-to-end support to residents by managing the lettings process, handling all aspects of property management and ensuring a high standard of customer service with a dedicated resident services manager.
The partnership between the two companies underlines their mutual commitment to collaboration as a means of building at scale and tackling the UK’s housing shortage across multiple regions.
Henry Marshall, Investment Director at Placefirst, commented: “Our continued collaboration with Vistry is enabling us to deliver high-quality single-family rental homes in some of the UK’s most high-demand, supply-starved markets. At both Kidlington and Norwood Farm, the deals to fund a total of 124 homes represent a rare opportunity to ensure that purpose-built rental housing forms an integral part of a community’s housing mix from the outset.
We have chosen to work with Vistry as they share our ethos of building sustainable, lasting communities, and our firm belief in the power of partnerships such as these to accelerate the delivery of well-designed, expertly constructed homes where they are most needed.”
Andrew Harvey, Managing Director of Vistry South Central Midlands, said: “It’s fantastic to be extending our partnership with Placefirst. Both deals at Oxford and Northampton demonstrate our shared commitment to creating inclusive, high-quality communities that meet a wide range of housing needs.”