Property man Chris Taylor on Regency Residential’s growing North West footprint

Welcome to the latest entry in Bdaily North West’s Built Environment series. This Autumn, we’re offering you key insights into the work of major players that have reshaped the region’s developed spaces.

Here in part three, we spoke with Chris Taylor, managing director of Regency Residential.

Can you give our readers a brief outline of your business and what it does?

“Regency Residential is part of MCR Property Group, one of the UK’s largest privately owned developers with more than 30 years of property experience.

“We are bringing to market around 5,000 homes and investment opportunities in the next 12 to 24 months.

“As the sales arm of MCR Property Group, Regency Residential provides clients with expertise in both buy-to-let and residential markets, with first class customer service while minimising the clients’ risk by taking low deposits (in most cases £1,000) and not relying on clients’ money to fund any current or future projects.”

What are some of the bigger North West projects you’ve been involved with previously?

“Our North West portfolio is a diverse mix of developments. Acre House in Sale is situated in the highly desirable M33 postcode – the fourth most sought after in the UK. The development transformed a disused office space into 80 attractive one- and two-bedroom apartments.

“Our Victoria Point premium student accommodation consists of 561 purpose-built student cluster flats across six apartment blocks. The development, which completed in Q3 2009, is well situated amongst the Manchester’s many bars and restaurants, making it a premier location for the city’s student population.

“Harter Street in the heart of Manchester city centre was completed in Q2 2017 – a mix of 22 high-specification duplex, one- and two-bedroom properties over seven storeys. Didsbury Point is a mix of 152 one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units in the heart of Didsbury and ideally placed for Manchester city centre and the Metrolink network.”

What are you working on right now?

“We currently have 11 developments live on the market, eight of which are off-plan. Of the 5,000 properties that Regency Residential is planning to bring to market in the next 18 months, more than half of the homes will be situated across sites in Manchester: Old Trafford, Gould Street and various Northern Quarter sites.

“Further afield developments include London, Birmingham and Edinburgh – key city markets.

“Our current live development in Bristol, Trelawney House, was released in September and is now over 80% sold – one of our most popular development launches to date.”

What sort of economic impact do you believe your work has had on the region?

“All our sites are developed using local suppliers, increasing employment in the area. Many of our sites rejuvenate the local area (we are generally the first investment received) and pre-cursor further investment.

“Many of our schemes are subject to local authority contributions, again helping to improve the area on projects which would usually come from the local authority’s purse. The number of units we produce brings greater footfall to areas, attracting business investment and subsequently jobs.

“All units are subject to Council Tax, increasing the local authority’s spending ability.”

What’s most important to your business in the work you do?

“We specialise in identifying areas that have strong potential for local economic growth when compared to oversaturated areas – for example, up-and-coming or regeneration areas of major cities with fantastic connectivity and local amenities.

“Our specialists take into account projected regional growth, industry forecasts for capital appreciation and government initiatives, including inward investment and transport improvement schemes.”

Do you operate in partnership with other companies in the North West? If so, do you have any recurring partners? How do you collaborate?

“We pride ourselves on working with local suppliers whom we have built up long standing relationships, enabling us to keep all projects of high quality whilst being delivered on time and on budget.

“Many developments we have undertaken have rejuvenated locations and have meant working hand in hand with the local community and council to ensure the area as a whole benefits from our investment.”

Can you name any regional developments you’re not involved in that have caught your eye?

“Middlewood Locks in Salford is a great waterside residential and commercial development with shops, hotels, restaurants and bars, and public open spaces in what has been in effect a “no-man’s land” for over a decade.

“Not only is this a significant investment for Salford; the fact that Spinningfields and Manchester city centre are a 10-minute walk away means it is one of the key schemes bringing the gap between the two cities.

“This is one of our main focuses as a business and we are a strong advocate for this kind of joined-up thinking.”

Lastly, what is your favourite space in the North West?

“I’m really impressed by the redevelopment of Manchester’s St Peter’s Square following its multi-million pound overhaul. The wide-open conservation area has been thoroughly modernised, while respecting the existing buildings, including Manchester Central Library.

“One and Two St Peter’s Square are fantastic new commercial spaces, bringing professional heavyweights E&Y and KMPG to the area, while the Metrolink Second City Crossing means the area is now a bustling hub in the city.”

Thank you, Chris.

To take part in this series, get in touch with Bdaily North West editor Richard at richard.bell@bdaily.co.uk