Lloyds Banking Group has announced the lettings agency chain that it wants to look after its upcoming Build To Rent units.

The bank’s BTR arm – Citra Living – has appointed Lomond to manage more than 600 properties; the contract will be with Lomond Investment Management, which spearheads the group’s BTR single family housing and portfolio landlord services.

The deal will see the department look after the mobilisation, lettings and management of 604 properties that Citra agreed to buy last month in June from housebuilder Barratt Developments plc.

Andy Hutchinson, managing director of Citra Living, comments: “At Citra, our aim is to offer a great experience and service for our customers, so partnering with a management firm like Lomond is key to us being able to deliver on this.

“Our latest deal with Barratt has added a significant number of high-quality rental homes to our portfolio and we are looking forward to working with Lomond to ensure our customers get the best experience possible in these new homes.”

Lucy Jones, chief operating officer for Lomond – who heads up Lomond Investment Management – adds: “Our specialist service provides Citra with a dedicated team and point of contact for the whole of this UK-wide portfolio – an approach that appeals to our expanding range of developer and investor clients, as well as giving us a competitive edge.

“This contract win consolidates Lomond’s standing in the single-family dwelling segment of the private rental sector. This is an area that continues to grow strongly, and we have identified it as a key opportunity for us.

“Lomond Investment Management continues to play an important role in adding leverage to the strength and scale of Lomond and our growing national footprint.  We have operational hubs in Manchester, London and Exeter, as well as on-site teams at our BTR locations for leasing and management.”

These 600-plus new properties will build on Lomond Investment Management’s current portfolio of 2,000 managed units and will complement Lomond’s group-wide total of more than 40,000 rental properties.

More than 500 of the 604 properties in the transaction are expected to be legally completed and transferred to Citra’s ownership over the 12 months to June 30 2024. 

Citra and Barratt have been engaged in a strategic partnership since 2021 with projects spanning Bedfordshire, Northumberland, Preston and Bristol, and a number of other projects in the pipeline.