Linklaters has advised Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) on its acquisition of more than 3,000 shared ownership homes from Sage Homes for £405m, established by funds managed by Blackstone and Regis Group plc.

This acquisition launches Sparrow Shared Ownership, a registered provider of social housing (RP) backed by long-term, patient capital deployed by USS Investment Management Limited (USSIM), the in-house investment manager for Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited (USSL), the sole trustee for USS.

The £405m transaction marks the largest acquisition of a portfolio of shared ownership homes since the creation of the shared ownership scheme in 1990 and represents a major investment into the sector by one of the UK’s largest institutional investors.

The team was led by partners Reza Taylor and Tom Watkins, alongside managing associates Thomas Scott (Corporate), Hannah O’Malley and Rory Bennett (Real Estate) and associates Alexandra Davies (Real Estate) and Dulan Dantanarayana (Corporate). On Tax matters, partner Alexei Franks advised with managing associate Wilson Hill and associate Maryam Satter. On Regulatory matters, Reza advised with managing associate John McCallion.

Linklaters’ Real Estate sector is unique in being able to draw on market-leading, cross border teams in all of the various disciplines required to provide seamless support to clients. These include banking, M&A, real estate corporate finance, tax, funds, securitisation, derivatives, litigation and asset finance, as well as environment, construction, planning/zoning and other real estate-specific expertise.