Invesco Real Estate has completed legal documents on a €110m (£98m) forward funding investment that will deliver 484 build-to-rent (BtR) units in the centre of Birmingham. The project, known as Holloway Head, is being developed in partnership with High Street Residential and the construction of the first phase, a 17-storey building, is expected to begin later in 2019.
A chronic lack of housing and surging house prices has driven up demand for rented city centre living among young professionals. However, there are just 5,759 units committed in Birmingham, compared to 74,767 in London and 23,320 in Manchester, according to the British Property Federation.
Holloway Head is located between Blucher Street, Gough Street and Ellis Street. It currently comprises a car park and the Girl Guides headquarters at Trefoil House. It is close to Birmingham’s Mailbox, Arena Central and Concord House, which is home to the city’s most expensive apartment, as well as key transport links close to the planned HS2 terminal at Curzon Street.
John German, Managing Director – Residential Investments at Invesco Real Estate, commented: “Birmingham is our third major UK regional city of investment following our commitments in Liverpool and Manchester. Adding Birmingham to our growing portfolio is a great next step due to its positive market outlook, a growing reputation as a business destination and positive rental growth outlook. Holloway Head marks the 12th asset in our UK Residential Fund, bringing our assets under management to around €650.9m (£580m) and approximately 2,279 units across the UK. As with all of our development projects, we’re excited about the opportunity to provide ‘best in market’ residential product for today’s rental market with units designed and built for purpose with our partner High Street Residential.”
Gary Forrest, Chairman of The High Street Group of Companies – which includes the specialist BTR platform, High Street Residential – added: “Birmingham is undergoing significant regeneration and represents a great place to invest. Local demand for professionally managed, purpose-built rental accommodation is rising quickly and in response, we are creating high-quality living spaces, future-proofed through the use of the latest Smart technologies. I am delighted that Invesco Real Estate has agreed to partner with us to develop Holloway Head. Like all of our developments, it offers an extremely attractive opportunity for investors to take advantage of a non-volatile, high-quality asset, offering attractive, long term returns.”
