Residential developer Hub and Norwegian private equity firm Smedvig have agreed a £155 mln (€184 mln) deal with build-to-rent operator Get Living to forward fund the first phase of a scheme to revitalise central Maidenhead.
The deal is developer Hub’s ninth forward funding agreement and its largest to date. It is also Hub’s first deal with Get Living and the first time Get Living has backed a development outside of the UK’s major cities.
The deal enables the partners to deliver 429 homes and 23,000 sq ft (2,140 m2)of ground floor retail, as well as car parking and extensive new public realm on a prominent 3.5-acre site in Maidenhead town centre. Construction will start on site immediately.
Designed by architect Studio Egret West, the mixed-use development, known as The Landing, will also deliver 104,000 sq ft of office space and another 15,000 sq ft of ground floor retail and leisure space in two further phases, with completion planned for the fourth quarter of 2024.
The Landing site – a key part of Maidenhead’s wider regeneration – is also adjacent to Maidenhead station, where Elizabeth Line trains will arrive in 2022.
Hub and Smedvig received planning consent from the Royal Borough of Winsor and Maidenhead in 2018.
Damien Sharkey, managing director Hub, said: 'This is a landmark deal for HUB, being both our ninth forward funding deal and our largest to date. The scheme we will now deliver is particularly important for Maidenhead, being on a pivotal site for the town and based on designs developed through extremely close consultation with the local community, as well as strong collaboration and support from the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead. Working alongside Get Living strengthens the development even further, by bringing one of the most experienced and exciting BTR operators in the UK to Maidenhead. We are very excited to now start construction on this fantastic new place that will bring beautifully-designed, well-connected homes, employment opportunities and community facilities to the town centre.'
Rick de Blaby, CEO of Get Living commented: 'This is a momentous deal for Get Living, being our seventh neighbourhood of large scale, but this time in a regional town rather than London or one of the UK’s large cities. In HUB, we have one of the UK’s most professional, innovative and enterprising developers whose vision for The Landing can now be realised. It is our responsibility, as long-term owners and custodians, to ensure we provide a place for people not just to call home and put down roots, but to create the stage for community to build and thrive, just as HUB’s team and the Council have envisioned.'
