Aware Super Halts UK Housing Investment After £337.5 Million Fire Safety Hit
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Jun 28
Aware Super Halts UK Housing Investment After £337.5 Million Fire Safety Hit
2 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Jun 28
Summary
Aware Super has paused new UK housing investment, while Oxford Properties is becoming highly cautious on future UK multifamily deals after losses and delays on existing assets.
£337.5 million in fire-safety remediation at East Village in Stratford drove Aware’s rethink after post-Grenfell rules tightened, with chief executive Deanne Stewart saying the fund was left carrying the cleanup costs.
Slow planning and permitting added to the pressure: Aware said repair work after a burst pipe at a Lewisham development could require permits taking up to six months.
The pullback complicates UK efforts to attract overseas pension capital into housing and other growth sectors by 2035, even as the government targets 1.5 million new homes this parliament.
Australian super funds already hold about £41 billion in UK investments, but investors say retrospective liabilities and legislative shifts risk deterring more long-term capital.