Annington ends MoD legal battle with £6bn deal

Guy Hands’ Annington has agreed to sell interests in a 36,347-home Ministry of Defence estate of married quarters properties. Annington has been locked in a legal battle over the homes for a number of years but has now agreed to surrender its 999-year lease on the estate to the MoD. The MoD will pay almost £6bn for the estate and will also transfer to Annington additional property with an aggregate value of £55m. The deal is expected to close on 9 January 2025. The sale will bring an end to the ongoing costly and time-consuming legal proceedings between Annington and the MoD. Annington said proceeds from the sale would be used to reduce its debt and make a distribution to its shareholders, which include UK pension funds and sovereign wealth funds. It will also look to reinvest capital from the sale to “build a leading UK long-term real estate portfolio”. Annington chief executive Ian Rylatt said: “This deal represents a new chapter for the married quarters estate and ends a costly and distracting legal dispute, allowing everyone to move forward. “It also provides Annington with greater operational freedom and flexibility, and we will look to build on our strong technical experience of managing a large UK real estate portfolio to explore new opportunities in the market.” He added: “We will continue to focus on increasing the amount of affordable housing available in the UK property market and furthering our commitment to supporting the nation’s housing needs.” Defence secretary John Healey described the deal as  a “decisive break” with the failed approach of the past and said it would enable the first steps to be taken to fix the long-term decline in housing for military families. He added: “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, not only to fix the dire state of military housing but to help drive forward our economic growth mission, creating jobs and boosting British housebuilding.  “There is still a lot of work to do to deliver the homes our military families deserve, and these problems will not be fixed overnight. But this is a decisive break with the failed approach of the past and a major step forward on that journey.” JLL advised the MOD on the deal. Photo by Penelope Barritt/Shutterstock (9266077w)