LaSalle has purchased Forbes Place for a price just under £60 million from Dandara and will retain the residential specialist for ongoing facilities management of the units at the development, including providing a 24/7 onsite presence.

Forbes Place is a mixed development of 292 apartments and townhouses at Dandara’s historic Stoneywood estate in the energy capital of Europe. The development is aimed at the medium-term occupancy residential market – providing rental apartments and family houses close to major centres of employment including the headquarters of BP and Aker Solutions and business parks such as D2 and ABZ in the Aberdeen International Airport zone.

The properties at Forbes Place will feature balconies for every home, underground parking, video entry, lifts, WIFI and secure delivery facilities for tenant’s parcels and refrigerated storage for groceries.

Gavin Wyley, managing director of Dandara in Aberdeen, said: “This is a significant investment in Aberdeen, which underlines the continued strength of the city’s residential property market. Forbes Place was designed specifically for the PRS sector and we are pleased to secure this deal with LaSalle as it makes its first move into this sector on behalf of a large pension fund client who was looking for an opportunity to purchase a purpose-built-and-maintained development in a major business location where there is already significant demand.”

Andrew Stanford, UK residential fund manager, LaSalle Investment Management added: “Our growth in the residential sector comes off the back of increasing demand for high quality rented housing coupled with attractive long-term real returns, which creates a compelling case for investment. We are targeting assets of 80+ units in regional towns and cities across the UK identified by our proprietary model as having strong economic fundamentals. Large-scale investment by pension funds has an important role to play in improving the quality of housing stock, as well as the choice and service for tenant customers in the private rented sector. LaSalle has substantial client funds available for investment in PRS.”