Grainger turbo-charges housing delivery as it secures consent for two build-to-rent schemes outside of London

27 March 2015

Grainger plc

("Grainger", the "Company")

Grainger turbo-charges housing delivery as it secures consent for

two build-to-rent schemes outside of London

Grainger, the UK's largest listed residential property owner and manager, has secured planning consent for two build-to-rent schemes outside of London, totalling 212 units, demonstrating that purpose built private rental accommodation is not exclusive to city centres but can be delivered in more suburban environments.

The two schemes form part of Grainger's larger strategic land development projects - Berewood, Waterlooville (comprising 2,550 units) and Wellesley, Aldershot (comprising 3,850 units) - both located in Hampshire.

By delivering some phases of housing for the private rental market rather than the typical 'for sale' model, Grainger will be able to accelerate the delivery of new homes, bringing more residents to live in the area sooner and stimulating the early delivery of schools and other community facilities. The development of homes for the private rented sector ('PRS') is in addition to Grainger delivering the affordable housing requirements at each site, representing 40% of total housing at Berewood and 35% at Wellesley.

Berewood will deliver over 2,550 new homes over the next 10-15 years. The newly consented build-to-rent phase at Berewood consists of 104 new homes. Originally, the phase was intended to be brought forward in Year 12 of the development, delivering a combination of private homes for sale and 40% affordable housing. However between 2001 and 2011, Winchester council, where the site is located, saw a 50% increase in the number of households in the private rented sector. Neighbouring council, Havant - which Berewood borders - saw a 100% increase in households in the PRS over the same period. Grainger identified this change in local housing tenures and saw an opportunity to bring forward the delivery of rental homes for the local area to satisfy this growing demand. The build-to-rent phase is earmarked for use in the PRS at market rents for the first 12 years (with the local authority applying a covenant on the land), after which 42 of the homes (representing 40% of the phase) will become affordable housing, in line with the council's target and the outline planning consent, and be managed by Grainger's social housing subsidiary, Grainger Trust.

At Wellesley in Aldershot, Grainger will deliver 3,850 new homes on behalf of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation on public sector land owned by the Ministry of Defence. Similar to the rationale at Berewood, Grainger saw an opportunity to turbo charge housing delivery and support early place-making by bringing forward a phase of the development for the private rented sector. The Gun Hill phase at Wellesley will deliver 108 new homes for the private rented sector, which will be delivered alongside other phases of the project which are for private sale and affordable housing. Overall, Wellesley will deliver over 1,300 new affordable homes (35%).

Both build-to-rent phases are earmarked for funding via the HCA's Build-to-Rent Fund, subject to final approvals.

Commenting, Nick Jopling, executive director of property at Grainger, said:

"These new build-to-rent developments will not only deliver much needed new homes in the local area but also support our desire to provide purpose built, quality private rental accommodation as well as accelerate the provision of amenities for the community as a whole.

"Today's news supports Grainger's strategy to grow its market rented business and our increasing focus on investment outside of London, where we have extensive experience managing residential portfolios. Grainger is committed to the market rented sector where we can bring our long and established track record of managing homes to the highest standards for people across the UK for the benefit of all our stakeholders."

ENDS

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