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Sunderland’s Gentoo Genie to bring 2,000 new homes to London in £40 million deal

Gentoo’s Genie Home Purchase Plan is set to move to London in a deal which will see 2,000 new homes available in the capital over 10 years.

Genie is a 30 year homeownership plan which doesn’t require a mortgage or deposit and is targeted at helping first-time buyers and long-term renters into home ownership.

Launched by Sunderland based Gentoo Group, Genie has worked with the Greater London Authority to bring the product to London. The GLA is supporting Genie with £40 million of loan finance.

The investment follows Genie’s successful pilot in the North East of England which has seen 88 families move into homes of their own.

Managing Director of Genie, Steve Hicks, said: “We set up Genie as a way to help those people who want to get onto the housing ladder but who haven’t been able to because of a number of reasons, including saving for a deposit while renting.

“There has been a lack of innovation in the housing market which has left would-be homeowners feeling frustrated and unable to buy their own house.

“This 10 year partnership with the GLA will help customers into a minimum of 2,000 new homes in the capital who otherwise would have struggled to own their own homes, because of the difficult market conditions in London.”

Genie is currently looking for development opportunities which will deliver the first 500 new homes in the Greater London area and it is anticipated the first properties will be on the market later this year for customers.

The investment in Genie has come through the Mayor’s Revolving Fund, which gives recoverable loans to fund new forms of affordable housing.

Chief Executive of Gentoo Group, Peter Walls, said: “We created Genie after asking ourselves the question where are our children going to live? We recognised that there is a large section of society who would like to own their own home but who have been unable to.

“Genie is an ethical and unique product that helps people to access affordable homes in the locations they want to live.

“We’re thrilled that the GLA has recognised Genie is an innovative solution to help these people and we look forward to seeing people move into their own homes.”

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “This is one of a number of innovative schemes I’m funding to help the thousands of people looking for affordable properties in the capital.

“Plans like this provide more accessibility and flexibility for purchasers who may struggle to save large deposits and my funding will help accelerate the delivery of much needed new homes across London.”