UK's Berkeley Group Holdings Plc agreed to enter into a joint venture with Wellcome Trust Ltd., a charitable foundation investing in real estate to secure funds for medical research. The agreement, which is worth GBP 400 million (US $616 million), covers investing in residential regeneration projects.

"We will be opportunity led, bidding at the right time for sites that would not otherwise be viable and turning them into fantastic places," said Pereira Gray, managing director of the Wellcome Trust's investment division. "It is good news for the U.K. housing market."

In a statement, it was revealed that Wellcome Trust will be funding the venture named St. Katharine. The project aims to purchase long-term regeneration sites in southern England, as well as London.

Berkeley Group, a homebuilder based in Cobham, England, gained profit from its land acquisition in the southeast part of England. The area's housing market has evaded the pits of the global recession and its mortgage lending is also less restricted.