Willmott Dixon boosts focus on private rented sector

Contractor Willmott Dixon has created a new business to help drive the development of private-rented housing schemes.

The firm said the new business, called Be:Here, had secured its first deal with M&G Investments for a 233-apartment scheme in East India Dock, East London.

The project comprises a mix of private rental and affordable housing units. With planning permission already obtained, construction of the homes will start immediately, with renters moving in during 2015.

The apartments will be owned by M&G and the private rental element managed by Be:Here.

The site is part of a wider regeneration of the Aberfeldy estate in Tower Hamlets that Willmott Dixon is carrying out with landowner Poplar HARCA to develop nearly 1,200 homes over ten years.

Willmott Dixon said Be:Here was in the process of acquiring further sites across London and at central locations in Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Leeds that are each capable of accommodating single developments of up to 400 apartments.

Andrew Telfer, divisional chief executive at Willmott Dixon Regen, said: “I’m delighted we’ve reached agreement with M&G on our first project in East London; it’s the start of a process where Be:Here will create homes for private rent on an ambitious scale, working with institutions that recognise the sector’s enormous potential to provide long-term revenue to their portfolios and our role in making that happen.”