Eversheds has acted for English Cities Fund (ECf) on the forward funding and development of 135 new homes in New Bailey in conjunction with Legal & General Capital (LGC), acting through its Build to Rent partnership and Dutch pension fund manager, PGGM.
This latest addition brings the joint venture’s current pipeline to nearly 800 new homes, with a total capital commitment of over £250m.
Through the creation of a new build to rent asset class, Legal & General is looking to use its long term capital to help address the lack of supply of housing and meet the increasing demand for affordable, quality rental accommodation.
The partnership will initially invest £600m into building purpose built private rental housing across the UK, providing over new 3,000 homes. This latest purchase is the partnership’s second acquisition from ECf in Salford, with further schemes in Bristol and Walthamstow, London.
Located adjacent to the existing New Bailey build to rent scheme, the new Salford site has full planning consent for over 15 storeys, providing a total of 225 new homes which will be managed by LGIM Real Assets.
The new homes will be situated on the riverside site adjacent to Spinningfields, within 200m of Salford Central station and 15 minutes’ walk from Manchester Piccadilly. The construction is due to begin in April 2016, with practical completion to be delivered in March 2018. Devised and designed by the ECf, which is a joint venture between Muse Developments, Legal & General and the Homes and Communities Agency, New Bailey is a major regeneration scheme delivering a completely new destination for business and leisure in the city.
Roy Barry, principal associate at Eversheds, commented:
“This transaction is yet another endorsement of the flow of institutional investment to Manchester. The opportunity to deliver a significant proportion of the UK’s housing needs via a large scale Private Rented Sector has never been greater. It has been hugely satisfying for our dedicated Build to Rent team to work in partnership with both ECf and LGC to deliver the scheme which will bring more residents to the area who are looking to live in this unique location.”
Phil Mayall, development director at ECf, said:
“The investment from LGC and PGGM is further testament to the momentum that is building on site as the scheme progresses at a pace. The two Build to Rent developments are the first of their kind to achieve institutional investment in Manchester, which means that real progress is now being made to bring both schemes forward.
“We have worked with the Eversheds Manchester team for over 10 years on Salford Central and they are very commercial and responsive to our requirements, they understand our business and the end game. They are quick and direct which is critical when you are trying to get deals done.”
Macfarlanes represented LGC.
