Grainger witnesses record lease-up for Southampton build-to-rent development

Launched at the end of March, Grainger said Gatehouse Apartments, its 132-home scheme in Southampton city centre, was now fully leased after just over three months, more than eight months ahead of anticipated.

Grainger stated that Gatehouse Apartments was just the first of five build-to-rent developments, totalling roughly 1,000 homes, it will deliver in 2021 - with other schemes located in Greater Manchester, North London and Leeds.

The FTSE 250-listed firm also highlighted that in recent weeks it had seen "significant uplift" in both enquiry and sign-up levels across its portfolio, with "many positive signs" for its recently launched Windlass Apartments and Apex Gardens developments in Tottenham.

Chief executive Helen Gordon said: "Our Gatehouse Apartments development in Southampton has performed remarkably well and significantly ahead of schedule and expectations, both in terms of timing and rental performance.

"As we emerge from lockdown we are seeing many positive signs across the board in terms of enquiry levels, reaffirming the strong fundamentals of the sector and an enduring demand for well-managed, high quality rental homes."

As of 1020 BST, Grainger shares were up 1.42% at 300.0p.