Disused Lloyds office sites to be converted into social housing

Exclusive: Bank launches project by selling Pudsey site as CEO says Labour's commitment to sector is clearer' than last government's

Lloyds Banking Group will start converting its disused office sites into social housing, as the UK's largest mortgage provider lays the groundwork for a fresh housebuilding boom after Labour's election win.

The bank, which started reviewing its property portfolio during the Covid lockdown in 2020, is launching the programme with a decommissioned data and office space in Pudsey, West Yorkshire. Lloyds will sell the site to a local housing group with the agreement that 80 new homes will then be rented at about half the usual rate. Lloyds said it was assessing other potential offices and datacentres in the UK that it could do something similar with.