EcoWorld and Apo hunt BTR funder in Barking double deal
EcoWorld London plans to double the size of its build-to-rent development at the Tesco superstore in Barking, east London, and has launched a hunt for backing for at least 1,000 flats.
The company has tasked its newly launched BTR platform, Apo, with securing a funder for the development, which could have a GDV north of £260m.
EcoWorld last year secured consent for a £134m development in Barking, comprising 514 flats in five towers to the south of the car park on Highbridge Road. It has since entered a deal to acquire the neighbouring Tesco site and plans to raise the total to circa 1,000 homes.
EcoWorld London plans to double the size of its build-to-rent development at the Tesco superstore in Barking, east London, and has launched a hunt for backing for at least 1,000 flats.
The company has tasked its newly launched BTR platform, Apo, with securing a funder for the development, which could have a GDV north of £260m.
EcoWorld last year secured consent for a £134m development in Barking, comprising 514 flats in five towers to the south of the car park on Highbridge Road. It has since entered a deal to acquire the neighbouring Tesco site and plans to raise the total to circa 1,000 homes.
Apo has entered talks with prospective buyers on behalf of EcoWorld, with some pursuing the acquisition as their first deal in the burgeoning BTR sector. It has whittled down a shortlist for the investment and a buyer is likely to be secured this year.
The company is understood to have been in talks with US fund manager Invesco, following a £400m portfolio deal in 2018 split over the first phase of Barking Wharf and Kew Bridge in Brentford, west London.
However, EcoWorld London is still flexible when it comes to the size of commitment. A smaller sale of part of the scheme could be struck, as could expansion to a wider portfolio deal, similar to the Invesco transaction.
Chief executive Heng Leong Cheong told EG: “We are very open in terms of what we can potentially do and the Apo platform is very beneficial for us to do that. We could look at it on a standalone basis, but there are also opportunities in terms of a more strategic relationship with these funds to do multiple sites.”
He said international investors in North America and Europe have shown greater appetite for larger portfolio deals, whereas UK-based funders are more interested in a single building or scheme.
The most recent data on BTR investment estimates a potential £4bn in deals closed and under offer in 2020 – up by 50% from 2019 levels, with major forward-funding commitments from Long Harbour, Aberdeen Standard Investments and QuadReal.
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