M&G finances development of 152 homes in West London

M&G Real Estate has announced its first private rental sector forward funding deal in London with mid-market specialist developer Hub to the west of the UK capital.

M&G is financing the development of 152 new private rental homes in Acton, West London, in a £43.5 mln (€55 mln) project involving a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments.

The scheme, which is part of the Acton regeneration scheme being led by Ealing Council, will be developed by Hub and will be held within a UK Residential investment strategy of M&G managed by Alex Greaves, which was launched in mid-2013 and has attracted a number of UK and international investors.

'For far too long, renting has been seen as a stepping stone to home ownership and, at times, even a backward step,' commented Greaves of M&G. 'These 152 built-for-purpose rental homes are a clear statement that renting can be the tenure of choice for an upwardly mobile workforce who require the flexibility of renting.'

He added: 'With this deal now complete, we are looking for more opportunities to fund mid-market developments via our fully scalable UK residential strategy.'

Aside from this deal, M&G as a group has made over £300 mln of residential rent investments in the UK since the beginning of 2013 including the sale and lease back of 401 market rented units at Stratford Halo, the funding of 233 social and private rental residential units at Aberfeldy New Village, East London as well as the acquisition of the 534 unit Berkeley Group portfolio in London and the South East.