Joint venture backs 135 new homes scheme in city

SOME 135 new homes in the New Bailey area of Salford are being developed joint venture, the English Cities Fund.

On behalf of its build to rent JV partnership, Legal & General Capital (LGC) and Dutch pension fund manager PGGM have announced they will be forward funding the scheme.

The 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 chronic long term 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 135 units over 15 storeys, providing a total of 225 new homes which will be managed by LGIM Real Assets.  

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.

“The progress that is taking place on the wider New Bailey development and the surrounding infrastructure is also extremely positive for the area. Improvements to the Ordsall Chord recently commenced in the city.

“Once complete, the Ordsall Chord will connect Piccadilly, Oxford Road and Victoria stations in Manchester for the first time. These much needed updates to the rail network will vastly improve connectivity and accessibility, bringing more businesses, people and investment to the area.”

James Lidgate, director of housing at Legal & General Capital, said: “Much has been made about generation rent, but for us this is about generation choice. We are proud of our philosophy for Built to Rent and will only invest in and develop purpose built schemes that offer renters a good quality, affordable choice that suits their personal circumstances and lifestyle.”