Another week, another shot in the arm for the private rented sector. One important difference this time, though. This latest intervention is on a different scale. It could be truly transformational.
It even stood out in a busy week for the sector. New PRS operator Inhabit has amassed seven sites offering the potential for 3,500 private rental homes. Meanwhile, the merger of three housing associations – L&Q, the Hyde Group and East Thames – could see them build 100,000 new homes over the next decade.
Most tantalising of all is Delancey’s new partnership with Qatari Diar and Dutch pension fund manager APG. The combination of experience, expertise and money has the potential to take the still fledgling sector to another level.
Seeded with an initial portfolio of 4,000 rented homes, the trio has created a £1.4bn residential investment partnership, merging their Stratford, E20,
and Elephant & Castle, SE1, interests.
Delancey’s Jamie Ritblat says there is no limit to how much capital could be committed, nor any time limit. And the venture’s ambition is not confined to London.
With British Land yet to detail its plans at Canada Water, SE16 – Roger Madelin will give his first major speech on that at
next week’s Residential Summit in London, do sign up at www.estatesgazetteevents.com/residentialsummit2016 – this sector is changing faster than others and faster than ever.
That’s a good thing in itself. And in a market where opportunities have been slowed by fears of Brexit, it’s a relief.
Speaking of Brexit, one story stood out this week. Not the £9m being spent by government on an EU hokey-cokey leaflet – a much-needed stating of the facts or a foghorn for Remain propaganda, depending on your point of view – but the news that London has held its position as the leading global financial centre.
London gained four points in the annual Z/Yen survey of 2,500 finance professionals to stay eight points clear of New York. This was despite acknowledgement that “uncertainty surrounding the possible exit of the UK from the EU is having a negative impact on London’s competitiveness at present”.
To maintain the gap in the face of such uncertainty is quite an achievement; without the cloud – presumably and encouragingly for life after the vote – London would have pulled away from competitor cities in the US and Asia.
Congratulations to Ask Real Estate, which has made the Mayfield regeneration shortlist in partnership with Patrizia. The business is competing with Argent and Urban & Civic on the £750m mixed-use redevelopment next to Manchester’s Piccadilly Station. It’s a big deal in every sense. And it’s a great story for Ask, a company badly burnt during the financial crisis.Carillion bought a majority stake in Ask in January, enabling the company to deal with its debt and emerge fighting fit.
It’s not the only piece of good news for the company. Ask has bought a 1.7-acre site next to the Manchester Hilton in Deansgate,
a 750,000 sq ft mixed-use scheme. It’s a quite a turnaround.
The language of tax is changing: from avoidance and evasion (the first legitimate, the second illegal) to inversion (a US loophole that enables companies to merge with overseas corporates and lessen their tax bill) and now aversion.
It is aversion that for many is at the heart of the Panama Papers scandal. There are good reasons for offshore ownership – and bad ones. This week’s stories highlight two questions that everyone in this sector should be asking themselves: If you use or advise on offshore vehicles, could you justify their use to tax authorities and clients? And, given that Mossack Fonseca are blaming hackers for the information being disclosed, how secure are your systems?
To send feedback, e-mail damian.wild@estatesgazette.com or tweet @DamianWild or @estatesgazette
