Crest Nicolson and M&G Real Estate have joined forces to fund the construction of 114 private rental homes in Arborfield Green, a new Berkshire garden village within a short commute of Wokingham and Reading in the United Kingdom.
“The Thames Valley region continues to attract significant investment including provision of offices for major global corporations,” said Alex Greaves, head of residential investment at M&G Real Estate. “This is a high-value area of the south east where young people, couples and families struggle to get on the housing ladder — there is a clear and ongoing need for good quality homes for those looking for flexibility and affordability outside of London.”
The M&G U.K. Residential Property Fund will finance the one- and two-bedroom apartments, which will be ready for occupation in late 2019.
Arborfield Green is the third PRS partnership between Crest Nicholson and M&G Real Estate and marks more than £100 million ($132 million) of deals made under the investor/house builder arrangement established in 2015. It forms the first part of the partnership’s intended plan to provide 200 build-to-rent units at Arborfield Green, and is based on the highly successful U.S. multifamily sector model, where superior location, amenities and management are of utmost importance to residents, a proven business model for institutional investors in the United States and increasingly in the U.K. market.
Previous deals with Crest include M&G Real Estate’s £51.5 million ($68.19 million) purchase of 227 PRS units at Crest Nicholson’s Kilnwood Vale development, near Crawley in West Sussex — the country’s first low-rise suburban apartment development, centered around a communal club house, tennis court and games area. Currently leasing ahead of target with the final 62 units to due complete shortly, it is also based on the U.S. multifamily sector model.
“The delivery of this purpose-designed suburban PRS scheme is a further exciting step in Crest Nicholson’s drive to explore new models of housing delivery,” said
Chris Tinker, board director at Crest Nicholson. “Private rented housing, integrated into our suitably located larger urban and suburban developments, has the potential to underpin a meaningful increase in housing output.”
Tinker added, “Stimulating new housing markets such as the private rental sector is the only way that the industry and government will be able to accelerate housing delivery and meet ambitious home building targets. Purpose-designed PRS schemes are complementary to our open market and affordable housing offers, whilst working in partnership with M&G Real Estate will again help us to broaden our tenure base and create diverse communities. As home ownership falls to its lowest level for a quarter of a century, these high-quality, professionally owned and managed schemes will also help to ease pressure on the rental market.”
