Birmingham has always been at the forefront of the regeneration of the UK but, more recently, it has been positioning itself to lead the recovery from the economic damage done by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The city’s development pipeline is growing, providing progressive and vibrant working, living and shopping spaces that will put the city at the forefront of that recovery. The Birmingham of today bears little resemblance to the city of even a few years ago. Even a brief glance at the city’s skyline demonstrates just how much is changing, whether it’s part of the large-scale regeneration of the city or completely new development.
The number of households in the private rented sector in the UK increased from 2.8m in 2007 to 4.5m in 2017, an increase of 1.7m in just 10 years. The sudden growth of buy-to-rent (BTR) has been fuelled by demand from the rapidly growing rental market, and encouragement from the government seeking to professionalise the rental sector and increase housing supply; the result is that more than £10bn has been invested in the UK’s BTR sector over the past five years.
Over the next ten years, Birmingham is set to experience one of the strongest increases in demand for rental accommodation outside London. As such, it is a hot-spot for build-to-rent investment. Research by property consultants CBRE projects a growth of 10,000 rented households in Birmingham over the next ten years. According to the latest estimates, 21% of Birmingham’s households are private renters – and this is forecast to rise to 26% in the next five years. The percentage of private renters in the city centre is significantly higher, currently accounting for 56% of households and forecast to rise to 63%.
There are three main reasons for this. First, Birmingham’s attractiveness as an investment destination; second, the projected growth in rental demand in the city is drawing professional institutional investors; and, third, the lack of supply of residential property in the city centre.
At HCR Birmingham, we are proud to be central to this revolution. Our 30-strong development team offers a complete service for developer clients, including strategic advice and site acquisition, planning and statutory agreements, finance (including secured lending), construction (including professional appointments and collateral warranties) and site set-up and disposal.
Among our recent experience are two of the city’s three tallest residential towers, as well as the regeneration of Digbeth, one of the city’s most exciting and dynamic districts. Talk to us about your goals so that we can help you achieve them with pragmatism and commerciality, but never at the sacrifice of quality and service.
