Pension Insurance Corporation has agreed a £90m forward funding deal for an Art Deco build-to-rent scheme next to the Hoover Building in Ealing.
PIC will fund Amro Real Estate’s development of The Wiltern, in its second investment into the sector.
The scheme has been designed by HTA Design in a similar style to the iconic Grade II listed Hoover Building.
The Wiltern comprises 278 flats up to 15 storeys with 35% affordable housing and received consent last year. It includes 10,000 sq ft of internal amenity space, with co-working, a fitness studio, pet spa and roof terraces.
The acquisition follows PIC’s BTR debut last year with a £130m investment at Manchester’s New Victoria. Construction of The Wiltern expected to complete by the end of 2023.
Tracy Blackwell, chief executive at Pension Insurance Corporation, said: “These investments are important to us because they help back our pension payments decades into the future. They are becoming increasingly important to the country because they provide much-needed housing in areas with high demand and they help regenerate our cities.”
Blackwell said PIC will employ 1,000 people to build the two projects, with thousands more jobs to be provided in future schemes as it builds out a growing pipeline.
However, she stressed: “It is vital for the country that the government reforms Solvency II in such a way that these investments become more efficient.”
Solvency II is a set of rules stipulating how insurers are funded and governed, introduced in 2016. It was more than 10 years in the making and more than 3,200 pages long.
It includes requirements to make sure insurers have enough capital in reserve in order to remain liquid when investing in “risky” assets, such as real estate.
PIC was advised by JLL and Amro Partners was advised by Savills.
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