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Quintain launches new BTR platform for 10,000-home target

Quintain is axing its Tipi brand in favour of a new build-to-rent platform, ahead of a regional drive to boost its portfolio to 10,000 homes within three years.

It has brought US BTR heavyweight Danielle Bayless on board and is on the hunt for a strategic funding partner to fuel the expansion.

The regeneration specialist currently has 2,000 operational BTR flats and will focus growth in the UK regions, seeking large development opportunities for mixed-use schemes.

Quintain expects to secure a funding partner this year, with an initial £1bn of investment for 1,500 operational BTR homes at Wembley Park, but hopes for future backing for its development pipeline and new site acquisitions.

James Saunders, chief executive of Quintain, told EG the business is focused on laying the foundations ahead of a period of “rapid growth”.

He said: “I want to create the broadest possible platform for Quintain’s build-to-rent offer to grow. We are ambitious and we want the brand to travel, not just in the UK where we want to open up other segments, but also internationally.”

Tipi will be replaced by its new BTR brand, Quintain Living. The platform launched in 2016 and has grown from four employees to 80, with a plan to add 20 roles this year, which will make up around half the business.

Bayless will lead the business as chief operating officer. She has 30 years of experience in build-to-rent, most recently as vice president of operations at New York-listed Essex Property Trust REIT, managing a 23,000-home portfolio on the West Coast.

She said: “Tipi has been a hugely successful brand for Quintain and Wembley Park, but now is the perfect time for a rebrand so we can target a wider group of people. Quintain Living achieves that, whilst underlining the way in which the asset management and development teams are working as one company.”

Saunders added: “There are a lot of nuances for the older and younger consumer and we are going to try and meet those needs head on. From the beginning we have tapped into US experience and expertise, both on the design side and the operating side. We felt it was time to bring across an operator to help us grow and refine our proposition.”

Quintain Living will also provide a wider range of services for tenants, with include gyms, social spaces and a new app, supported by upgraded technology with a new end-to-end leasing system. The developer is exploring launching its own flexible office provider to bolster its commercial offering in response to post-pandemic demand.

It will also use technology to improve cost efficiencies, processes and revenue predictions, while at the same time expanding its footprint.

Bayless said: “In the US you have families and older people renting in specially developed communities because it suits their lifestyle and they are able to live in a beautiful home in a fantastic location, I think that is a natural progression for the BTR market in the UK.”

Quintain was founded in 1992 and was principally focused on the regeneration around Wembley. It was acquired by US private equity giant Lone Star in 2015, which helped to ignite the growth of the BTR brand.

Quintain Living will take over the 2,000 BTR flats at Wembley, with a further 4,000 in the pipeline, as well as upcoming schemes in Ireland at Adamstown and Cherrywood. The firm is also continuing discussions on a number of large schemes in the regions with a significant investment.

Saunders said: “We are interested in having a long-term strategic partner, not just for our existing leased up assets, but also for the assets that we are still leasing up and developing.

“A strategic partner that would be right for us would recognise the value of that operating synergy and would be interested in going not just on the journey that we have today, but the assets that we will have in the future.”

After kicking off the process last month, Saunders said there has been significant investor interest, particularly noting the asset’s resilience post-Covid, where other sectors have suffered.

The new company aims to tap into ongoing demand for rental, growing investor confidence as a new unified development and operational company.

“It all ties together,” said Saunders. “I want the strongest possible platform for our expansion, not just at Wembley but other places, and I am convinced that Quintain Living offers a much broader opportunity.”

Savills is advising Quintain on its search for a funding partner.

To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette

Photo: Quintain

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