Alpha Real Trust has announced the purchase of a residential development site, in central Leeds, for £3.75m. The “Monk Bridge” site has planning consent for 269 residential apartments over 140,000 net saleable square feet with potential for ground floor commercial development within existing disused railway arches. The company says that, like it purchase of the Unity & Armouries site in Birmingham (announced on 2 July 2015), this investment also targets the increasing growth opportunities identified in the Private Rental Sector residential market. Taking into account likely supply, JLL forecast that from 2015-2019, house prices in Leeds city centre will rise by 22.8% and rental values will increase by 19.3% over the same period.
The company says that, post development, the investment can create an opportunity for resilient equity income returns at an attractive yield on cost, with potential for operating leverage to further improve returns, in their view. They also believe that the investment offers scope to secure capital growth as the site matures or planning is enhanced (The development earlier had outline consent for 720 units, totalling 392,000 net saleable square feet, now lapsed). The company says that the project has a potential gross development value in excess of £55m.
Alpha Real Trust purchases central Leeds development site for £3.75m : ARTL