Yard House aims to provide low-cost, high-quality co-living solutions. (Source:CDL)
City Developments Ltd (CDL) continues to grow its presence in the UK’s built-for-sale housing sector, with the Singapore property giant this week announcing an £88 million ($111 million) letting in West London’s White City district. announced that it had acquired a housing project. .
Singapore’s largest non-state-backed developer is acquiring Yard House, a 209-unit co-living project on Wood Lane, through a forward agreement with London’s Bridges Fund Management, working with development partner HUB A 17-story tower will be built. according to Bridges’ statement.
CDL, which has previously invested in student housing, hotels, condominium projects and commercial property in the UK, welcomed the transaction as its first acquisition in the private rented sector (PRS) in central London.
CDL Group Chief Executive Sherman Kwek said: “Despite macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges, UK PRS has proven to be a highly resilient asset class with strong operational performance. It’s been proven.” “This acquisition…is consistent with our strategic focus to expand our global lifestyle sector portfolio, strengthen recurring profits, and enhance our capital management objectives.”
affordable rentals
CDL said it plans to complete the project, which has a total floor space of 102,600 square feet, by 2026, and plans to build on a 23,681-square-foot site currently occupied by the Women’s Pioneer Housing Project. .
Sherman Kwek, Chief Executive Officer, City Developments Ltd
Hub and Bridges won a bid in 2019 to redevelop the site in partnership with social enterprises.
“This landmark transaction reflects London’s strong demand for low-cost, high-quality co-living space,” said Simon Ringer, Head of Real Estate at Bridges. “We have worked extensively with the local community to ensure Yard House responds to local needs, in line with our ongoing commitment to supporting best-in-class developments in needs-driven sectors.”
CDL said its total commitment of £88m for the project includes the purchase price of the site, construction costs to be paid in stages and the development of an adjacent seven-storey residential building and commercial block for Women’s Pioneer Housing. said.
The adjacent development will include 60 affordable housing units and ground-floor office space for a nonprofit organization for single women.
Located opposite Imperial College and within a 10-minute walk of Westfield London Shopping Centre, Kwek expects the project to capitalize on the growing demand for flexible, professionally managed co-living facilities .
As it enters its fifth submarket in the UK, CDL links the Yard House prospect to its ongoing £8bn program to transform the White City into a hotspot for creative industries and biomedical research and innovation. .
The authority plans to build 5,700 new homes and create 10,000 new jobs within the 110-hectare White City Opportunity Area by 2028.
The addition of Yard House increases CDL’s UK private rental housing portfolio by 13% to 1,857 operating and pipeline units. The company has a portfolio of rental properties, including development projects, totaling 4,771 units worldwide, across the UK, Japan, Australia and the US.
This latest acquisition comes less than three months after CDL acquired a 261-unit 1NQ rental housing project in Manchester for £75.6m, also through a forward agreement.
Singapore still loves London
Beyond rental housing, CDL is actively expanding its presence in the UK’s luxury residential and commercial sectors.
In November, CDL’s joint venture with Britain’s Galliard Homes completed the purchase of the Morden Wharf mixed-use development in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, south-east London, containing 1,500 homes along with commercial and retail space in 12 buildings. is aiming to build.
In March 2023, CDL acquired the St Catherine Docks complex in central London from Blackstone for £395 million ($468 million).