British lender Lloyds Banking Group said that it has launched its private rental business. And the main aim of this business is to buy more than 1,000 residential properties by the end of next year.
Under the brand “Citra Living”, Lloyds expects to have its first tenants in Fletton Quays in Peterborough. This was stated by the company and is expected to come into action in a few weeks. They added that it has planned to acquire around 400 properties by the year-end and they also wish to double the target next year.
Andy Hutchinson, Citra managing director, told the Financial Times that Lloyds was in discussions about purchasing several other developments which are already under construction. But still it hopes to build the bulk of its portfolio through partnerships to develop new sites from scratch.
This move into the property rentals was reported by the FT. And that highlights the pressure on retail banks to find new revenue sources, as profit margins in their core businesses are squeezed by record-low interest rates.
