Housing veteran David Montague is advising Lloyds Bank on its residential strategy as the bank makes its first move in the rental sector.
The former chief executive of L&Q oversaw the housing association’s expansion to a portfolio of 115,000 homes including social, affordable and market-rented properties. L&Q has one of the largest PRS portfolios of any UK landlord.
Montague has joined as an external senior adviser as Lloyds seeks to grow a portfolio of rental assets. In its full-year results the bank said it was “exploring opportunities to increase our support to the UK rental sector”.
Last week, the Financial Times reported that Lloyds would seek to acquire built assets to rent under an initiative dubbed “Project Generation”.
Montague’s recruitment to support the bank follows his recent appointment as chair of Joseph Homes and non-executive director role at Hadley Property Group.
He stepped down from L&Q in January after more than three decades with the company. Montague joined L&Q’s finance team in 1988, was appointed finance director in 2003 and became chief executive in 2008.
Announcing his departure last year, he said it was “the right time for a new challenge”. In an interview with EG, Montague said he was looking to join a housebuilder and a social housing provider, as well as supporting social entrepreneurs.
A spokesman for Lloyds Banking Group said: “‘As we stated in our full-year results and our strategic review last week, we are committed to broadening access to home ownership and exploring opportunities to increase our support to the UK rental sector.”
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