European real estate investment platform Henderson Park and South Carolina-headquarted global rental housing specialist Greystar Real Estate Partners have acquired a 550 unit residential project in London from Tide Construction.
Financial details were not revealed.
The residential development, at 101 George Street in Croydon, will comprise two of the world’s tallest towers built using modular construction, at 44-storeys and 38-storeys. The site has full planning permission and the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018.
'This significant acquisition provides us with further critical mass in London’s residential private rented sector (PRS) market,' commented Nick Weber, founding partner of Henderson Park.
'This programme of investment will further increase demand for homes and 101 George Street, with its fast modular building methods, will provide much needed supply across all levels of affordability. We are also very pleased to be working with Greystar again and combining our team’s experience with one of the world’s leaders in rented housing.'
This is the second investment Henderson Park and Greystar have made in joint venture into London residential PRS, following their $197 mln (€158 mln) acquisition of a 172-unit central London residential portfolio from Barratt Developments in March last year.
'101 George Street is a strategically significant deal for Greystar and helps us move closer to our target of delivering 10,000 multifamily units in London by 2022,' said Mark Allnutt, Greystar managing director, UK.
'It also means that, when operational, we will have large-scale multifamily developments in four areas of London – Greenford in West London, Sailmakers in East London, Nine Elms in central London and now Croydon in south London.'
Modular approach
101 George Street will be developed using modular construction, a much faster alternative to traditional construction, as modules are constructed offsite in a controlled manufacturing environment. According to Greystar, it also results in up to 80% less waste, fewer onsite workers and greater certainty on costs and time.
'Building high-quality homes faster, and with less disruption to the local area, is of paramount importance in such a fast-evolving area of south London,' said Christy Hayes, CEO of Tide Construction.
The modules will be shipped from a factory in Bedford with the electricity prewired and plumbing, furniture and windows already installed. The total build time for the project will take just 24 months, from construction starting to residents moving in to their new homes.
101 George Street is the fourth project Greystar and Tide Construction have delivered using this method and, once complete, will bring the total number of units the partnership has delivered in London to 1,700 units.
