Business tycoon Lord Willie Haughey plans to spend more than £1bn on building 11,000 homes affordable homes in Scotland over the next nine years – and his Glasgow based company City Facilities Management Holdings has formed a partnership with property group Ediston to bring forward the plans.

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He said the plan would reduce rental costs and make renting preferable to taking out a mortgage.

Ediston, based in Edinburgh, has bought a 24% stake in his company for £640m.

Lord Haughey hopes the housebuilding partnership will help to address the housing shortage in Scotland.

He said: “I’m just trying to help with the housing crisis. I read an article that said young people spent more than 50% of their income on housing. I thought there must be a better way than paying for bricks and mortar. These houses won’t be for sale.”

The 64-year-old said the new homes would cost about £700 per month for a 1,200 sq ft property.

“Nobody is providing homes at these prices,” he said.

The first housing development with Ediston will be in Crown Street in Glasgow’s Gorbals.

It will consist of 356 luxury apartments of about 1,200sq feet and include 87 electric charging stations and 20 electric cars which can be hired by the hour.

Lord Haughey, who originally spoke to The Herald about his plans, said the latest technology would also reduce tenants’ energy bills.

“We are trying to build houses that you would be proud to stay in for the rest of your life,” he said. “The whole idea is that renting is better than having a mortgage. You can save equity in cash over the month rather than having bricks and mortar.”

Lord Haughey said the £640m from the deal with Ediston would be retained within City Facilities Management Holdings. He said the money would be used to leverage a further £400m of borrowing to enable it to invest more than £1bn in building 11,000 homes over the next nine years.

The company employs about 14,000 people and is expected to record turnover of more than £1.3bn in its current financial year to December.

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