New housebuilder launches focused on single-family market in North and Midlands
A new housebuilding company has been launched with plans to deliver build-to-rent (BTR) and private residential homes across the North West, Yorkshire and the Midlands.
Portrait Homes, based in Congleton Business Park, Cheshire, was incorporated at Companies House on October 18, 2022.
Initially focusing on the single-family BTR market due to the volume of investor capital chasing this product, Portrait said its mission is to capitalise on the UK’s enormous rental opportunity. It is seen as a low risk investment class which also performs as an effective hedge against inflation.
While the single-family market will be the focus, Portrait will also build homes for private sale, in many instances on the same site as the rental portfolio.
The directors of the business have more than 30 years of experience in strategic land acquisition, care homes, retirement living and residential builds, led by chairman David Gladman, his business partner, Jon Shepherd, and Dr Ed Gladman, chief executive of Adlington Retirement Living.
David Gladman, chairman of Portrait Homes, said: “The UK is currently facing an acute housing shortage.
“Most young people are desperate to get onto the property ladder and many feel that this goal is unattainable in the current economic climate. The imbalance between supply and demand is forcing house prices and rents ever higher, which, in turn, is causing more young people to live with their parents for longer.”
He added: “This is compounded by the extreme lack of rental properties suitable for families. We intend to use our highly skilled development team to build the rental housing these young families so desperately need.”
Dr Ed Gladman said: “As a new, fast growing, and privately owned house builder based in Congleton, Portrait Homes will offer two-, three- and four-bedroom semi-detached and detached homes for BTR and private residential sales.
“Our land team, led by Josh Kite, is currently seeking opportunities to grow our short and long term pipelines in our heartland with a minimum requirement of five acres.”
The developer is tapping into a market that is expected to grow rapidly over the coming years. Recent research from Savills predicts that 70,000 new single-family homes will be built by 2032 and that the sector’s share of the build-to-rent market will grow from 12% to 18% over the same period.
A team is being recruited for Portrait Homes, which will also share resources and expertise with Adlington Retirement Living.
