L&G buys build-to-rent site in Leeds

Legal & General (L&G) has bought a build-to-rent site in the centre of Leeds, the fifth UK city in which it is developing its rental offer. 

The Mustard Wharf development brings L&G’s total pipeline of rental units to more than 1,400, with an expected gross development value across the portfolio of £420m.

The site, located in Granary Wharf, has permission for 250 homes, as well as 8,640ft² of commercial and amenity space. L&G said it expected to be able to begin construction on the £60m scheme in early 2018, with practical completion aimed for early 2020.

L&G’s total investment capability for the rental sector currently stands at around £1bn, having raised capital from major pension funds for an open-ended build-to-rent fund, plus a £600m joint venture investment by Legal & General Capital and PGGM. Its first scheme, in Salford, is due to see residents move in at the start of June.

L&G has also set up a huge modular housing factory in Yorkshire, from which it plans to deliver 3,000 factory-built timber homes a year for both its own and other developers’ schemes.