BTR developer accelerates expansion into London with £68m apartment development

Birchgrove, the UK’s leading provider of rented retirement homes, today marks the next stage of its expansion into London with the purchase of a 78-apartment development in Hampton Court, the eighth site in its growing portfolio across the South-East.

The £39m deal to acquire the site has been completed with Octagon Developments, who design and build high quality homes throughout Southern England. Octagon Developments will deliver the apartments on a turnkey basis by 2025.

This is Birchgrove’s eighth development with their equity partners Bridges Fund Management and follows the successful exit of its first two neighbourhoods to M&G last year. The debt is provided by Beaufort Capital and is their fourth deal with Birchgrove. The project’s GDV is forecast to increase to £68m once all units are fully let.

Located in the sought after new 0.65 hectare (1.59 acre) Hampton Court Estate, the development will provide 78 contemporary, self-contained assisted living one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments available to independently minded renters aged over 65, together with extensive communal facilities including a restaurant, club room, licensed bar, wellness suite, library and landscaped gardens.

Research commissioned by Birchgrove shows that, with planning approval, the project will deliver 107 bedrooms and help free up a further 179 bedrooms of family housing in the local area; as a result, a net increase of 72 bedrooms could be released onto the private market by using this site for assisted living, thereby helping address the local housing shortage.

The Hampton Court development represents the latest chapter in Birchgrove’s expansion as demand for retiree rental living continues to surge.

According to the English Housing Survey, the number of pensioners in rented accommodation is set to double to over 1m in the next decade; given the UK’s ageing population and growing demand for retiree rental accommodation, Birchgrove - as the pioneer of the UK’s retirement rental model - is working aggressively to scale its network of communities, both into London and beyond the M25.

Hampton Court is Birchgrove’s second development within the capital, following the acquisition of a site in Chiswick, West London, last year.

Birchgrove currently operates three retirement communities across the South-East, with three further communities under construction and now available for rental off-plan, two further London sites acquired (Chiswick and Hampton Court), and negotiations underway for a ninth location to be added to the pipeline.

Honor Barratt, chief executive, Birchgrove said: “Our new site at Hampton Court will encapsulate all the benefits of the Birchgrove offering: beautiful, purpose-built apartments, a flexible rental model, publicly accessible communal spaces and a development that frees up homes for local families.

“With more and more retirees looking to rent, London is firmly in our sights to expand our portfolio, and having secured sites in Chiswick and Hampton Court we look forward to announcing further exciting news in the capital soon.”

Tim Banks, CEO of the Octagon Group comments: “We are delighted to have sold such a significant and impressive Surrey site to Birchgrove, who, like Octagon, offer a unique customer-first service.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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