Manchester Life hires head of lettings

Manchester Life Development Company has appointed Jennifer Bendik to oversee the development of 860 rental homes across four schemes in Ancoats and New Islington.

Bendik joins from homes4u, where she was director of operations. She has more than 30 years’ experience in property, with positions at Touchstone Residential, Opal Property Group, Beech Housing Association and Trafford Council.

Manchester Life, the residential development joint venture between Abu Dhabi United Group and Manchester City Council, is currently developing more than 1,000 predominantly privately rented homes in Ancoats and New Islington. Cotton Field Wharf in New Islington is the first of four rental sites to be developed within phase one of Manchester Life.

Bendik said: “Manchester Life is creating an approach to rental homes that does not currently exist in our city. Our rental offering has evolved from a combination of carefully listening to what the rental market needs, and what makes for a great rental experience, and then globally benchmarking against the very best in rental home design and customer experience from cities with highly sophisticated rental markets.

“This has culminated in our promise of ‘modern city living, no complications, no compromises’, and it is my challenge to build the operations and team to deliver this. It is a hugely exciting challenge to be part of, and I am confident that it is going to be a real boost for Ancoats and New Islington.”