Not just city centres - leap into suburbia for Build To Rent

One of the country’s largest Build To Rent operators, Legal & General, has acquired a new scheme from volume housebuilders Countryside.  

The scheme is in Great Haddon, Peterborough and will deliver 117 new family rental homes. 

Legal & General’s BTR arm, which launched at the end of 2020, is now scaling a portfolio of large scale ‘single family’ rental communities in suburban locations across the UK.

As an investment market forecast to grow ultimately to over £200 billion, Legal & General aims to be the UK’s first choice BTR platform creating family homes in areas connected to schools, transport infrastructure and key amenities. 

Great Haddon, purchased for £25m, consists of two, three and four-bed houses considered to be attractive to Legal & General’s target market.

In line with Legal & General’s wider ambitions for its BTR projects, Great Haddon will be community focused and service-led - L&G claims this level of offering is largely unavailable in the wider residential market, particularly outside the UK’s urban centres. 

David Reid - managing director of Legal & General Suburban Build to Rent - says: “Build To Rent as a sector has consistently demonstrated value to investors, delivering robust and defensive income streams, suitable for patient capital investment. 

“This is clearly about more than strong investment prospects for us; it’s about providing high quality rental housing for families across the UK, as working practices and lifestyle demands continue to evolve. We are delighted to be developing our first scheme with Countryside to meet these aims and look forward to working with Countryside in future.”

And Matt Bench, chief investment officer at Countryside, adds: “As a mixed-tenure developer, providing quality homes that meet requirements for a wide range of different individuals is important to us. 

“As well as offering options that help families get on the property ladder, suburban Build To Rent homes such as those available at Great Haddon will combine great places to live in an attractive, family-friendly setting with high standards of management and service.”