The portfolio of properties was spread across eight developments in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Paisley, Rutherglen and Hamilton with an estimated combined rental value fully let of approximately £810,000 per annum.

George Hepburne Scott, Savills director, who acted for Places For People, said: “The fact that this portfolio attracted considerable interest from a range of parties underlines the growing strength of the PRS market in Scotland. The market has been driven by rising urbanisation, smaller households, and increasingly unaffordable house prices.”

The purchasers were represented by Tay Invest and Scarlett Land and Development. Tay Invest, Tay Letting’s investment arm, was launched in 2018 to help clients looking to expand their property portfolios. 

Tay Letting director Marc Taylor believes this deal shows residential property continues to stand the test of COVID-19. 

He said: “With the volatility of the Stock Market, and the pensions of many people at risk, we’ve certainly experienced increased appetite from investors looking to safeguard their future with credible buy-to-let investments. The demand for rental property is incredibly high across the Central Belt because of under supply of new housing.”

Will Scarlett of Scarlett Land and Development, who acted for the buyers alongside Tay Invest, added: “This transaction, which started pre-COVID, demonstrates once more the resilience of the Private Rental Sector (PRS) as a relative safe-haven for investors at a time of economic uncertainty.”

The number of households living in the Private Rented Sector in Scotland has increased by over 200% between 1999 (120,000) and 2017 (360,000).

Tay Letting, Scarlett Land and Development, Turcan Connell, Harper MacLeod, MacRoberts, and CMS acted for the purchasers. Meanwhile, Savills and Womble Bond Dickinson represented Places for People.