German property firm Patrizia has revealed plans to build its first private rental scheme in the UK.

The 500-home development at Manchester’s First Street regeneration area will form the foundation of Patrizia’s plans for a dedicated PRS fund, building on its significant European track record in the sector, which already includes the management of 80,000 apartments worth €7 billion. The firm intends to develop and own the apartments specifically as a ‘build-to-let’ property.

The 20-acre site is partially developed with an 180,000 sq ft office building, known as “No. 1 First Street”. It is a Grade A BREEAM ‘Excellent’ building with a Weighted Average Lease Term of nine years and is let to high quality occupiers such as Ford, Auto Trader and Jacobs Engineering. The site has capacity for the development of up to 1 million sq ft of office space and approximately 500 new apartments.

Assets recently completed at the site include a 208-bed Melia Innside hotel, nine bar and restaurant units, and 700 carpark spaces. Patrizia will develop offices and residential on the remainder of the site over the next five to seven years.

James Muir, managing director of Patrizia UK, said: “We have been carefully implementing our strategy of investing in high-growth locations across the UK. With this investment, our property assets under management in the UK now amount to more than a billion pounds. Driven by attractive economic and demographic fundamentals in Manchester, and the growing trend for urbanisation, we are anticipating strong demand for this centrally located, high-quality accommodation which will be tailored to the private rental sector. Together with the new commercial buildings we expect to create an attractive investment opportunity for institutional investors. We see this project as an ideal first investment for our planned Patrizia UK PRS Fund.”

Wolfgang Egger, CEO of Patrizia Immobilien AG, added: “Patrizia Immobilien AG has been active in the residential property market for 30 years. This experience, coupled with the expertise of our local colleagues, offers ideal conditions for sustainably successful investments.”

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