Developer snaps up Birmingham city centre site for £106m scheme
Developer The High Street Group of Companies has snapped up a Birmingham site for a £106m private rented sector (PRS) apartments scheme- bringing the gross development value of its portfolio of proposed projects to more than £600m.
The city centre site, close to The Mailbox retail complex and the planned HS2 rail link, is part of an area undergoing significant regeneration.
The scheme will create around 500 one, two and three bedroomed apartments and it is hoped that construction will begin later this year.
Meanwhile, the completion of a deed of variation on another Birmingham site – Westminster Works in the Curzon Street area of the city’s improving southern gateway – also brings development there a step closer. This £57m venture will deliver an eight storey, 254 apartment complex.
And with two further second city sites being seriously considered, the High Street Group’s investment in Birmingham could rise to more than £300m, creating over 2,000 PRS homes.
Group chairman Gary Forrest commented: “Birmingham is a dynamic city currently undergoing significant regeneration and therefore it represents a great place to invest. Almost 17% of the UK population is renting privately and this figure is expected to grow significantly.
“In response, we are creating high quality living spaces, like these in Birmingham, future proofed through the use of the latest SMART technologies. There are communal relaxation facilities, where people can meet, form friendships and build new communities.
“This style of living is becoming the choice of young professionals and we anticipate increasing our investment levels by around £200 million per year for several years to come.
“Our developments offer extremely attractive investment opportunities for institutional and individual investors who can enjoy yields and capital growth in excess of seven per cent per annum. These are none volatile, high quality assets offering attractive, long term returns, which we can maximise for our partners.”
The High Street Group already has PRS projects under construction. The first is in Milton Keynes, where a £30m investment is creating a seven storey facility containing 139 apartments. Grainger, the UK’s largest listed residential landlord has unconditionally agreed to forward fund and acquire this development.
The second is in Newcastle, where the £46m, 26 storey Hadrian’s Tower will become the city’s tallest building and provide 162 apartments.
With planning permission recently granted for a site in Salford, the start of work on the £26m, seven storey, 127 apartment Middlewood Plaza is expected to commence this summer.
Other High Street Group projects include Cheshire Junction in Warrington – a £40m eight storey, 362 unit development and a £22m, eight storey, 142 unit development in Trafford, Manchester.
Including a ninth initiative under consideration in the North East, the group is either building, planning or considering PRS schemes totalling almost 3,000 units, representing a combined gross development value of over £600m.
