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Long Harbour buys 258 build-to-rent houses in £600m suburban homes drive
Long Harbour has bought 258 build-to-rent houses in the South East of England as part of a £600m spending drive on suburban homes.
Long Harbour has bought 258 build-to-rent houses in the South East of England as part of a £600m spending drive on suburban homes #UKhousingThe investment manager has agreed to forward fund 193 private rented houses in Horsham, West Sussex and 65 houses in Uttlesford, Essex. The homes will be developed by house builder Dandara.
The Horsham homes are within Mowbray Village, a development on the northern edge of the town near Littlehaven station. Once complete, the Mowbray Village masterplan will comprise 2,750 new homes, more than 45,000 square metres of employment space, a supermarket and a sports campus.
Long Harbour praised Horsham for its “affluent population” and growing rental sector.
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The Uttlesford homes will be in Great Dunmow, a market town with an “affluent, well-educated workforce”. Market analysis by Knight Frank forecasts 24.4% employment growth in the area by 2044, exceeding the 15% UK average.
The acquisitions were made on behalf of Long Harbour’s latest single-family housing fund, which is currently deploying up to £600m into suburban houses for private rent. The vehicle has a total target raise of £1.2bn and is acquiring new build family homes across the UK, with a focus on the East and South East of England.
Long Harbour and its portfolio companies currently have £3.5bn of assets under management. Last year the National Pension Service of Korea made a £300m commitment to seed the investment manager’s single-family housing fund.
Jack Spearman, managing director of single family housing at Long Harbour, said: “Our strategic partnerships with house builders such as Dandara means we are able to deliver much-needed rental homes in sought after locations.
“Horsham and Uttlesford are vibrant towns, yet access to homeownership remains a challenge. By forward funding 193 houses in Mowbray Village and 65 in Great Dunmow, we are helping to meet the growing demand for high-quality rental homes.”
Paul Ebbs, divisional managing director at Dandara, added: “This is an important milestone for Dandara as we expand into West Sussex and West Essex and strengthen our presence in the South East and East of England.
“As one of the UK’s leading developers in the institutional living sector, single-family housing is a key priority for us – and partnerships like this are central to how we support long-term housing needs and create thriving new communities.”
Long Harbour was advised on the transactions by CMS and Knight Frank. Dandara was advised on Horsham by Newmark and CRS and on Great Dunmow by Savills and CRS.
The advantages of single-family homes for investors include lower operating costs than flats, which have lifts and communal spaces to manage, and the profile of tenants, who tend to be families and less transient in nature, reducing turnover and voids.
Meanwhile, cost and regulatory headwinds continue to constrain urban high-rise development, while the market for private sale houses is steady but unremarkable.
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