International real estate investment manager – Savills Investment Management (Savills IM) – completes the acquisition of two forward-funded single-family Build to Rent sites in the Midlands – both developed by Urban & Civic – for approximately £50m.

Both acquisitions were off-market transactions, and the first in Savills IM’s Build to Rent portfolio. Savills IM worked with Brotherton to procure development finance from Bank Leumi.

Savills IM’s first site is in Houlton, Rugby in Warwickshire. The scheme includes 149 single-family Build to Rent homes as part of a wider masterplan which will see the delivery of 5,950 new homes alongside four new schools.

With community a focus of the scheme, there will be a range of shops and local amenities clustered within a series of local centres and a district centre. As part of the first phase, over 700 trees will be planted with 40 acres of green open space.

The Houlton development will deliver energy efficient, technology-enabled single-family Build to Rent units, with the highest possible EPC A rating. The installation of solar power units will also provide more energy savings.

The second site acquired by Savills IM is at Alconbury Weald in Cambridgeshire. The scheme will deliver 49 units – a mix of single-family homes and flats. All homes will be EV charging ‘ready’ and include smart home technologies, so residents can control and monitor energy usage. 

Alconbury is a Homes England flagship site, and the Build to Rent homes form part of the wider scheme, which will see the delivery of 6,500 new homes alongside parks, play areas and over 200 acres of woodland and green space. 

Savills IM‘s acquisition of these two sites follows its acquisition of Pitmore – a UK Development and Build to Rent specialist – in August 2022, which signalled the company’s plans to grow its UK residential and Build to Rent platform. In September 2022, Savills IM launched its BtR strategy with Asian capital backing its fund.

“We are delighted to have acquired these two sites, both at attractive prices against the backdrop of the single-family forward funding market. The schemes at Rugby and Alconbury will form a high-quality core of our Build to Rent portfolio, with strong demand fundamentals, providing resilience against market downturns due to the defensive nature of the sector. 

“The fact that both transactions were sourced off-market further illustrate our team’s in-depth knowledge of the sector, especially with the addition of the Pitmore team, who have brought a wealth of experience and a high-quality client base.”

Jon Crossfield, Head of Living, Savills IM