The £500m-plus plan to create thousands of homes in Leicester
International investors "primed" to pump hundreds of millions into thousands of executive flats
Tom PegdenBusiness Editor
Updated 12:22, 16 MAR 2019
The £51 million Merlin Works scheme is already being built by Jamie Lewis in the Waterside regeneration area of Leicester (Image: rg+p)
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Leicester developers are drawing up a £500 million, five year plan to build as many as 3,000 new executive flats in the city.
Speaking at the international MIPIM property conference in the south of France, they said multi-billion pound investment firms were looking at the city as a safe bet for their money.
Joe Levy, managing director of student flats developer Bradgate Estates, believed there was appetite among some of the city's big developers to build more schemes similar to those going up in Vaughan Way and the city's Waterside.
He said new PRS – high-spec serviced Private Rented Sector schemes – would help address the housing crisis, meet demand from young executives keen to live close to the offices and amenities of the city centre, and provide sound, long-term investments for funders.
Joe Levy of Bradgate Estates at MIPIM in Cannes, France
The first tenants will move into Leicester's newest executive flats complex – the £43 million, 297 apartment Wullcomb complex opposite Highcross – this summer. The lowest rents will be £595 a month.
Leicester student developer Jamie Lewis, who was also at the Cannes conference to talk to council representatives about schemes in other cities, has started work on the £51 million Merlin Works scheme overlooking the River Soar in Bath Lane. Some 384 one and two-bedroom rental apartments will be ready late next year.
Mr Lewis is also involved in a £60 million plan – still in the early stages – to build 300 PRS flats and 250 student flats on land going from Braunstone Gate, across the Old River Soar towards Bede Park.
That is being led by Roy Coley who runs Sowden Group in the city.
Mr Levy, a lead sponsor of the Team Leicester delegation to promote city and county investment opportunities at MIPIM, said attending last year's event promoted deals worth £20 million for his business.
He believes there was no reason why future MIPIM's couldn't help generate more than £500 million for further schemes.
MIPIM 2019: Why Leicestershire business people are heading out to Cannes this spring
He said: "There are funders who have already invested in Leicester, such as Cording Real Estate Group [in Bath Lane] and Long Harbour [in Vaughan Way] and they are actively seeking more sites and want to work with partners they already know.
"They have got hundreds of millions of pounds and we are encouraging them to invest in Leicester.
"All the developers here at MIPIM are on the same page and we want to know if the council has an appetite to support us.
"It could be more than £500 million – maybe even £1 billion of investment – because the future is going to be PRS. But we are in a competition for funding with cities like Eindhoven and Dusseldorf.
The Wullcomb
"A five year plan could see us bring 2,500-3,000 new homes to Leicester, maybe more, by collaborating and working through any concerns.
"We can make a profit, but at the same time the city benefits, the taxpayer benefits and people looking for places to live benefit."
Huge £60m plan to build 550 executive and student flats in Braunstone Gate
Jamie Lewis – who held 23 meetings at this year's MIPIM – said: "There is an appetite from institutions that want to invest, which won't be there for ever.
"And if the deals are done it could conceivably come to £500 million.
"Whether that's PRS, build to rent, co-living, or housing is still to be seen. Co-living, for instance, is ideal for graduates who want smaller apartments not dissimilar to the student accommodation they would have been in at university."
Property developer Jamie Lewis
Speaking in November, Charlie Miller, director of residential acquisitions at Cording, said: "Leicester is a fantastic location for the fund's first build-to-rent investment.
Big new developments in the city
Thousands of homes
Market place plans
Pie factory
"It is a vibrant city which features prominently in the East Midlands with a high demand for affordable new build-to-rent accommodation in line with the fund's strategy.
"Leicester's population is forecast to grow at a rate in excess of the national average, while the current supply of rental stock in Leicester is limited and relatively dated."
Highcross
Braunstone
Leicester City Centre