Moda Living hails touch-of-a-button taxi deal with Uber

Moda Living, which is delivering the landmark 34-storey Angel Gardens in NOMA, has heralded a property-tech partnership with Uber that will aim to cut car ownership across Manchester.

The first collaboration of its kind in Britain will offer tenants up to £100 Uber credits per month if they agree not to have a car parking space in the building. Using Moda Living’s bespoke app, residents will simply press a button and get a ride.

Moda Living says because it is a build to rent developer – creating clusters of apartments that it manages rather than sells off – it has to think about how the buildings will be used long into the future.

The company is backed by £1bn of investment from Middle Eastern-based Apache Capital Partners and is developing 6,000 rental-only homes in major cities across England and Scotland.

The prop-tech partnership is likely to be rolled out in cities across the world.
By partnering with Uber, Moda Living says it is hoping to create more sustainable developments as city leaders tackle the challenge of building millions of homes while also reducing emissions.

Moda Living, backed by Apache Capital Partners, a Middle East investor. Its developments will be located in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, and Birmingham, all cities where Uber operates.

Its first scheme, Angel Gardens in Manchester’s NOMA neighbourhood, is currently under construction and will house close to 900 residents when it completes in 2019.
Jo Bertram, regional general manager of Uber in the UK, said: “Cars are one of the most expensive assets most people own, but they’re used just five per cent of the time.

“Our mission is for everybody to have a reliable ride at the touch of a button so they don’t need their own car.

“These plans for what will be a unique partnership with Moda Living is a big step forward in making that a reality.”

Johnny Caddick, managing director of Moda Living, said: “Our apartments are for rent rather than for sale so we need to consider how our customers will live in cities in the future. Embracing future technology is vital from day one and these plans for a partnership with Uber would not only give our customers an affordable ride at the touch of a button – it would also enable us to design better buildings with more space for social interaction.”

Gareth Lewis, UK real estate director at PwC, said: “Moda Livings tie-up with Uber is a great example of an innovative approach by a property business that capitalises on both advances in tech and the growing relevance of the sharing economy.”

Richard Jackson, co-founder and managing director of Apache Capital Partners, said: “Cities face huge challenges that can only be solved through collaboration.

“This proptech partnership around cutting car ownership is one logical step to free up space and cut emissions. Uber’s endorsement of the Moda Living brand sends a clear message to civic leaders that we are ready and willing to help improve not only the lives of renters but also the communities around the buildings we invest in.”

Peter Burns, managing director, UK development and residential capital markets at CBRE said: “We know real estate development is about far more than bricks and mortar and this tie-up shows that Moda Living with Uber is prepared to be not just a build to rent pioneer, but a genuine innovator in proptech as well.”

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