Legal & General acquires ‘biggest BTR site to date’ near Woolwich Arsenal station

Professional services firm Legal & General has exchanged contracts on its biggest build-to-rent (BTR) site to date.

The scheme, located in Woolwich, has been acquired by Legal & General Capital alongside co-investor PGGM and pension fund capital raised by LGIM Real Assets via its open-ended BTR fund.

Known as Macbean, the development is located on brownfield land near Woolwich Arsenal Overground Station.

If granted planning approval, it could deliver more than 650 new homes, 21,000 sq ft of commercial space and a new public square. The residential element would comprise a mix of private and affordable rental units.

Legal & General has identified it as one of the last sizeable development opportunities opposite a Crossrail station.

Dan Batterton, BTR fund manager at LGIM Real Assets, commented: “Macbean is another great example of Legal & General investing in a location with significant urban regeneration potential and providing large scale sustainable rental schemes which will have a positive long-term socioeconomic impact.”

Mathieu Elshout, senior director private real estate at PGGM, said: “As a responsible investor of Dutch pension capital, it is our ambition to build long-term partnerships with prominent UK real estate players, investing in sustainable developments with a positive impact on the build environment over the long term.”

Legal & General Capital’s director of housing, James Lidgate, said of the deal: “This latest development, our largest BTR acquisition to date, is another step forward for Legal & General in its ambitions to tackle the severe housing shortage that the UK is facing, helping to address the significant supply and demand imbalance, both in the Borough of Greenwich and across London as a whole.”

Property firm Colliers International advised Legal & General on the deal.

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