Funding secured for Kier’s Guildford station scheme

A funding deal has been agreed for a block of flats next to Guildford railway station in Surrey.The build-to-rent project for the private rented sector is part of a £150m scheme on land around Guildford station by Solum Regeneration, a joint venture between Network Rail and Kier.The wider plans include the transformation of Guildford’s station car park into a new Station Quarter, which will be home to a new station building, along with housing, offices and retail.There is planning permission for 438 apartments at the site in total.Grainger, the listed residential landlord, has agreed to forward fund and acquire a block of 98 flats on the scheme for £37m. The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of several conditions. It is expected that construction will start in mid-2021, once these have been satisfied and the transaction becomes unconditional.