Vistry Group, one of Britain’s biggest housebuilders formerly known as Bovis Homes, has agreed to sell a portfolio of 1,750 new-build homes to the private equity firms Blackstone Real Estate and Regis Group in a £580m deal.

The portfolio will be managed by the private rented housing firm Leaf Living, which is backed by funds managed by Blackstone and Regis.

The portfolio, which is concentrated in the south-east of England, consists of 1,750 residential properties across 36 Vistry developments. The first completions are expected by the end of June, with the majority of homes expected to complete within the next two years.

Vistry is in the process of selling off properties from its housebuilding division as the company moves towards focusing on its partnerships business, which builds affordable housing for government and non-profit partners.

Greg Fitzgerald, chief executive at Vistry Group said: “By working in partnership with organisations like Leaf Living we can maximise the number of high-quality homes we deliver every year.

“This agreement supports our differentiated business model, with the certainty provided by the pre-selling of homes enabling us to accelerate our build programmes, guarantee work for our supply chain, reduce sales and build costs and create vibrant new communities.

“This year we are on track to deliver more than a 10 per cent increase in new home completions, playing a key part in helping to address the UK’s acute housing shortage.”

In March, Vistry said that it plans to increase the number of properties it builds this year, thanks to booming demand for its affordable homes business.

Last month, the property developer raised its annual homebuilding target by about 3% to over 18,000 units after rivals warned of subdued market conditions this year.