Rental Living – Suburban single-family
An unquestionable opportunity exists to provide high-quality, suburban rental accommodation in knowledge centres of Southern England. Since there is a shortage of existing stock of rental housing in these markets, new units will need to be built and managed in-line with MGT’s bespoke Single-family specification and customer journey.
High-growth locations in southern England
MGT has identified high-growth locations in southern England which are projected to significantly outperform the wider market due to a significant share of the tech economy, combined with a highly educated population. MGT has labelled these locations Knowledge Centres.
MGT seeks to invest in locations where housebuilders, developers and land owners have accumulated significant land banks. As the ‘for sale’ housing market dynamic changes, MGT predicts that partnership opportunities will emerge to provide forward-funding and development capital to catalyse delivery of rental units.
Demand for suburban rental housing
The UK housing market is chronically undersupplied and Build to Rent is an increasingly important long-term solution. While the majority of the BtR sector to date has been focused on urban, mid-to-high rise apartments, there is a significant and growing demand for suburban BtR. This segment of the BtR market is heavily undersupplied.
Knowledge dense hubs with a highly educated workforce
Technology rich environments in the UK attract disproportionate levels of innovation and growth, which in turn drives demand for high quality rental housing. A skilled, highly educated workforce is an important driver of prosperity — where there are high levels of education, there are high levels of growth. Knowledge Centres are locations where technology and an educated workforce intersect.
Professionally-managed, large-scale, build-to-rent residential is widely recognised as an essential part of the solution and in recent years there has been a significant amount of investment in purpose-built, town-centre rental apartments. While this type of development forms an important component in the rental equation, MGT believes that the UK needs a more diversified rental housing strategy.