Up to 200,000 Homes Could Be Unlocked Through Targeted Public Investment, CBRE Research Finds

A new housing finance model could unlock up to 200,000 additional homes and support more than 70,000 jobs across England by 2031, according to new research from CBRE and Mandala Partners. The model would enable delivery through the targeted deployment of £8.5 billion in public risk capital, providing a significant boost to the Government’s housebuilding ambitions.

The CBRE and Mandala Partners research sets out how the strategic use of public ‘risk capital’ can simultaneously unlock housing schemes currently stalled by viability constraints, significantly boosting national housing delivery, and generate returns for the public sector.

It finds that an investment of £8.5 billion could unlock nearly 200,000 new homes across England by 2031, with funds returned to the Exchequer within ten years. The impact is projected to be strongest in London and the South of England, where housing needs are most acute.

This includes 37,000 build-to-rent homes in London, where development activity has slowed significantly, without the need for traditional grant funding. Nearly 1 in 5 of these homes unlocked could be delivered within the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor.

Targeted deployment of this approach in major city regions could help unlock over £22 billion in private investment, support more than 70,000 jobs, and contribute nearly £6 billion to GDP by 2031.

The analysis draws on financial structures implemented through Greater Manchester’s Good Growth Fund, launched in November 2025, which has already partnered public and private institutional capital to deliver an initial 3,000 homes.

The research demonstrates how this approach can be replicated across England. This study provides new data and insight into the status of housing viability in every local authority of England using CBRE’s proprietary data and valuation methods, showing how public investment can bridge viability gaps where private returns alone are insufficient.

The report also provides a framework for the Government’s newly launched National Housing Bank, backed by £16 billion of public finance capacity, demonstrating how it could be leveraged to mobilise additional public and private capital into housing delivery.