Legal & General and PGGM announce Bristol build to rent acquisition.
Legal & General Capital (LGC) and Dutch pension fund manager, PGGM, have today announced that they have completed the acquisition of a Build to Rent development site in Bristol, as part of their newly formed joint venture.
The partnership will initially invest ,~600m into building purpose built private rental housing across the UK, providing over 3000 homes.
The partnership, which signals an innovative approach in addressing the UK housing crisis, has acquired a cleared development site in Bristol for ,~4.8m from Square Bay. The site, known as ND7, has planning consent to deliver 168, one, two and three bed homes above c.11, 500 sq ft of flexible commercial space, providing the opportunity to create the first bespoke Build to Rent development in Bristol. The site will be built and managed by LGIM Real Assets, on behalf of LGC, with completion anticipated in autumn 2018.
The asset is well located within 300m of Temple Meads Station and benefits from the wider investment into the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, one of the largest urban regeneration projects in the UK. Bristol has very positive rental growth prospects owing to relatively constrained local supply and a healthy demand dynamic and benefits from a growing and educated population, with a large proportion (25%) between the ages of 20 and 34, partly due to the fact there are two universities in the City.
Moreover, employment is strong with a number of blue chip companies such as PWC, Osborne Clarke, Burges Salmon and RBS located close by. The scheme will be the largest City centre Build to Rent development of this type, providing a high-quality product for elective renters that will support them for the long term, offering a level of flexibility and choice that currently isn't available in Bristol.