L&G acquires £500m Wandsworth BTR scheme
Legal & General has exchanged contracts with Railway Pension Trustee Company and National Grid UK Pension Scheme to acquire two build-to-rent schemes with an end value of £500m.
The acquisition will see the Legal & General Fund, PGGM and Legal & General Capital develop 902 homes and around 85,000 sq ft of commercial space in Wandsworth town centre, SW18.
The two sites straddle Swandon Way, neighbouring Wandsworth Town railway station, and are occupied by home improvement retailers B&Q and Homebase.
Legal & General has exchanged contracts with Railway Pension Trustee Company and National Grid UK Pension Scheme to acquire two build-to-rent schemes with an end value of £500m.
The acquisition will see the Legal & General Fund, PGGM and Legal & General Capital develop 902 homes and around 85,000 sq ft of commercial space in Wandsworth town centre, SW18.
The two sites straddle Swandon Way, neighbouring Wandsworth Town railway station, and are occupied by home improvement retailers B&Q and Homebase.
Railway Pension Trustee Company with joint developer London Square received permission for a 517-home scheme on the former B&Q site at the start of 2018 (pictured). London Square exited the scheme leaving Railway Pension Trustee Company in full ownership.
National Grid UK Pension Scheme’s development on the former Homebase site provides 385 homes. DTZ Investors was the investment manager on the scheme. It was called in and approved by Sadiq Khan at the end of 2017.
The two sites span six acres and include 35% affordable housing.
Dan Batterton, head of build-to-rent at LGIM Real Assets, said the acquisition was “another great example of Legal & General investing in a location with significant urban regeneration potential and providing large-scale sustainable rental schemes which will have a positive socioeconomic impact”.
Paul Miller, managing director principal investing at Legal & General Capital, said: “This latest development in Wandsworth, our largest BTR acquisition to date, is a perfect example, offering 1,000 new rental homes alongside improving the station infrastructure and offering commercial real estate space to support local businesses.”
Mathieu Elshout, senior director private real estate at PGGM, said: “Our growing BTR venture with Legal & General continues to deliver on our goal to have a positive impact on the UK’s built environment over the long term.”
Colliers International advised L&G and JLL advised DTZi.
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