Four more for PRS REIT as acquisition spree continues

The PRS REIT, the fund set up to invest in new-build private rented sector housing, has signed contracts on four development sites, two of them in Salford and one in Knowsley.

One of the Salford sites, in Walkden, and the Knowsley site have been acquired immediately, with forward-contracts agreed on the second Salford site along with one in Telford, each subject to detailed planning consent being granted.

The REIT was set up by Sigma Capital in 2017 and has been highly acquisitive since, raising a further £250m in a second equity placing in February this year and agreeing a further debt facility. It bought four sites in the region this summer and a Wigan site in September.

The four plots will enable PRS REIT to deliver a total of 464 homes with a gross development cost of £68.2m. Once constructed and fully let, the initial two sites are expected to yield a rental income of £2.1m per year, with completion expected in the first half of 2020.

Sigma PRS Management, the PRS REIT’s investment advisor, will manage the delivery of the new homes, with Countryside Properties as construction partner.

The four deals will take the PRS REIT’s portfolio to 36 sites that are either completed or contracted, with a combined gross development cost of £452m.