Countryside to deliver 900 North West homes in second round of housebuilding

Property developer Countryside has announced plans to deliver around 900 new homes across the North West.

The Warrington firm signed a second delivery agreement with its existing partners, regeneration firm Sigma Capital Group plc and investment bank Gatehouse Bank plc, to create the properties for rent across Liverpool and Greater Manchester.

Ian Sutcliffe, Countryside’s group chief executive, said: “In addition to providing new private rented homes this agreement also includes plans for several mixed tenure developments, drawing on the strength of our partnerships division and its 30 years’ experience in urban regeneration.”

As part of the plan, Countryside will build a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom houses over 10 sites that range between 40 and 140 units.

The sites earmarked for development include Heyfields at Walkden, a town near Salford, and a further phase at Liverpool’s Norris Green Village.

Sigma’s chief exec, Graham Barnet, commented: “We are delighted to announce this further agreement with Countryside, which strengthens Sigma and its partners’ position at the forefront of private rental housing development in the UK.

“The second phase of our collaboration with Gatehouse Bank is part of our wider objective to create a £1bn portfolio of rental homes across the UK over the next four years.”

The latest agreement follows another launched between the partners in December 2014, which included the delivery of 927 new homes for the private rental sector. To date, 374 have been completed, with the rest to be delivered by September this year.

Abdulaziz Al-Duweesh, the chief investment officer at Gatehouse Bank, said: “Just over a year ago we invested in the first phase of development of over £100m in 900 new build homes.

“Now we are delighted to continue working with Countryside and Sigma again to extend the investment in this sector with another 900 newbuild homes as part of a wider investment programme.”

All the homes in the second phase are due for completion by 2019.

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