A group of London's largest landlords, G15, is aiming to secure more than £2 billion of "private finance" in order to build thousands of affordable homes, reports Inside Housing.

In addition to £350 million worth of grant money from the government, G15 will stretch out the sum with more than £2 billion of private finances and other resources.

This will allow the firms to deliver around six in ten of the new homes in London over the next four years, allowing a plethora of social housing jobs to be created in the capital.

Under the government's new funding model, housing associations - including G15 - will deliver around 90 per cent of the 170,000 affordable homes set to be constructed by March 2015, claims 24dash.com.

This highlights both the housing associations and the government's ambition to meet social housing demand in London.

Keith Exford, chair of G15 and chief executive of Affinity Sutton, is apparently taking a big risk with the new scheme: "G15 associations are now in negotiation over contract terms and subject to reaching agreement on a number of important detailed points, we have shown we are willing to put our balance sheets on the line to help provide the housing so desperately needed by Londoners."