Deal sealed for Nine Elms build-to-rent scheme

Telford Homes has signed a pre-construction development agreement with developer Greystar to build 894 private rental flats in London’s Nine Elms.Greystar has exchanged contracts to acquire two plots of land from Royal Mail for £101m on the south side of the river Thames between Vauxhall and Battersea.The pre-construction development agreement means that Telford Homes will help Greystar apply for detailed planning consent. The intention is that Telford Homes will then enter a full design and build contract to deliver the development for a fixed price.Telford Homes is therefore taking construction risk but not any sales or rental risk. Greystar specialises in developing and managing large-scale rental communities in the United States of America. It entered the UK market in 2013 and has since built up a rental portfolio worth £2.8bn by investing in new housing and student accommodation.Greystar’s land deal is for two of the seven plots owned by Royal Mail in Nine Elms. Royal Mail’s site covers approximately 14 acres of which 8.35 acres are developable pursuant to the outline planning consent. The two plots that Greystar has bought cover 2.67 acres. Greystar has paid an initial £3m to Royal Mail following the exchange of contracts and the remaining £98m is conditional upon local authority planning consent.