Greystar buys Battersea Big Yellow BTR scheme

Greystar has agreed to acquire a build-to-rent scheme being developed by Big Yellow Self Storage at York Road Business Centre in Battersea, SW11. The investor-operator has agreed a £31m deal to purchase a 0.84-acre site, subject to planning, and will also fund the development of 500 homes. Big Yellow Self Storage owns the wider 1.6-acre site bounded by York Road and Lombard Road, and secured consent for 168 flats (pictured) and a 100,000 sq ft storage facility in 2019. The new storage will replace a 50,000 sq ft building to the north of the site, with the flats planned to replace a two-storey retail building let to Halfords and Pets at Home to the south of the site. The existing residential consent allows for buildings of up to 20 storeys and includes 36% affordable housing (60 homes, of which 39 affordable rented and 21 intermediate). Greystar will propose a revised plan designed by architect Hawkins Brown for a new building spanning 150,000 sq ft of residential space. The investor aims to work up a fresh planning application later this year. Mark Allnutt, senior managing director, Europe at Greystar, said: “The site provides an opportunity for us to deliver a development from the ground up in a well-connected central London location. “We are proposing a purpose-designed, highly amenitised concept that will bring a new type of product to this part of London to meet pent-up demand and emerging customer requirements. “There has been a surge of activity in the UK since Covid restrictions started to ease, and we are actively looking for further acquisitions so that we can continue to expand our European platform.” The acquisition follows Greystar’s recent fundraise, providing €725m (£623m) in equity for its flagship pan-European value-add residential fund at first close. The closed-end vehicle is targeting €1bn of equity commitments into rental housing investments in the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, France, Germany and Austria. Greystar was advised by Cushman & Wakefield. Image © Mountford Pigott architects See which agents are doing the most investment deals with our On-Demand Rankings >>