Middle-Eastern-backed investment manager Apache Capital Partners and Moda Living are investing £1bn in UK private-rented housing.
The two firms will develop a pipeline of 5,000 private-rented sector (PRS) assets, with Apache as funding partner.
Apache said a seed asset has been bought in Manchester’s Angel Gardens – evidence of appetite for PRS schemes beyond London.
The joint venture, two years in the making, will look to invest in UK regional cities as well as the south east of England.
Richard Jackson, co-founder and managing director of Apache, said the firm has seen strong demand for UK PRS from its Middle Eastern investors.
“This is partly because PRS is already an established sector in the region”, Jackson said, pointing to the sector’s supply-demand imbalance and prevailing ”lifestyle shift toward flexible living”.
Johnny Caddick, Director of Moda Living, said: “Traditional views on renting are changing and more people are looking towards PRS for long-term tenure. With this in mind Moda Living’s aspirations are to create lifestyle developments that focus on putting the tenants – our customers – at the heart of the concept.
”This will ensure we constantly evolve to stay ahead of the market and the changing face of renting as we know it, which enables us to create living spaces that are tailored specifically for city-centric lifestyles.”
The Angel Gardens asset includes a 36-storey tower of 458 units.
Patrizia Immobilien recently said it was investing in a Manchester site which includes a PRS asset. The investment manager is buying the 20-acre mixed use site, with 500 apartments planned for the scheme.
To read more on PRS in the May/June edition of IP Real Estate, click here
