Nearly £60m funding secured for "major" Leeds development

A real estate company has announced that it has secured £57m of funding for the development of a “major” new project in Leeds.

Richardson, part of Ask Real Estate, has received the funding from Legal & General’s Build to Rent Fund (BTR Fund) and Access Development Partnership, which is a joint venture between Legal & General Capital and PGGM.

The funding will be used for the development of Tower Works, a new Build to Rent site in Leeds City Centre.

The site will consist of 245 units, providing two new residential buildings with 1, 2 and 3-bedroom apartments.

Work is expected to start on the project in the coming weeks.

Ben Holmes, real estate director for Richardson, commented: “Tower Works is one of Leeds’ most exciting residential development opportunities and we are very proud to have secured funding with Legal & General to bring this superb site forward and create much needed new homes for the city.”

Dan Batterton, senior fund manager, BTR at Legal & General’s Real Assets division, said: “As Covid-19 drives secular changes and a fundamental rethink of many areas of the real estate sector, BTR has remained largely unaffected.

“It has delivered stable income returns throughout the crisis, with occupancy, rent collection and demand remaining high.

“In the last two weeks we have let our 1,000th apartment and welcomed the first residents to our Mustard Wharf scheme in Leeds.

“This continued demand further demonstrates the need for homes with functional space to work, alongside convenient access to local cultural and leisure amenities.

“The Tower Works development further strengthens our existing portfolio. Today, it has committed over £2bn in the sector, with nearly 2,000 operational apartments and a pipeline to deliver a further 7,000 apartments by 2025.”

Legal & General was advised by global property consultancy Knight Frank.