U+I seeks funding to launch sibling firm focused on PRS

摘要

U+I is set to launch a sibling company, provisionally called I Am, focused on the private rented sector (PRS), and is seeking £350m to kick-start the venture. Property Week can reveal that U+I, previously Development Securities, intends to go to market on 29 February to find a long-term investment partner for the new business. In the first instance, U+I is seeking £350m to build around 1,600 homes across seven sites within commuting distance of central London. The aspiration is then to build a PRS portfolio of around 5,000 homes over the next five to six years with a value of about £1.5bn. "From the funding market's perspective, I think the golden ticket is that we have a pipeline of 10,000 homes in our wider portfolio at U+I," said the firm's deputy chief executive, Richard Upton. "It makes a lot of sense for us to be building other business streams to develop those homes. There are only so many we can build on our balance sheet."