- Quintain Living saw over 1,700 move-ins at Wembley Park in 2021, a 166% increase compared to 2019. This equates to more than 3,400 new residents
-
Stabilised assets have seen rent growth of 6.5% as demand for rental apartments remains strong
-
Average lease length at Quintain Living reached 23.4 months in December
Quintain Living, the property management arm of Quintain, the Lone Star-owned developer behind Wembley Park, has confirmed a record number of residential leases in 2021, with 1,700 move-ins compared to 633 for 2019, a 166% increase.
For assets operating throughout the year, Quintain Living drove a 2.6% increase in rental yields and within the buildings that had stabilised before the pandemic, the company achieved 6.5%.
This strong performance, despite the first quarter impacted by Covid restrictions, was supported by Quintain Living’s advanced technology platform, which includes virtual contactless viewings, 360 tours of apartments and a suite of online leasing tools. With leads generated over digital marketing, Quintain Living’s experienced leasing team has seen conversion rate of nearly 50%, showing the importance of investing in Business-to-Consumer (B2C) technologies and providing seamless customer journeys during both lockdown and normal market conditions. The advanced platform has also allowed Quintain Living to attract more than 450 international residents, all of whom had the confidence to rent without viewing in person.
Importantly, Quintain Living’s market-leading two and three-year lease terms enabled lease lengths to reach an average of 23.4 months in December. This reflects the findings of the recently published “Who lives in Build-to-Rent” [1] report by London First, the British Property Federation and UKAA, showing that across the UK, Build-to-Rent (BtR) schemes provide long-term housing to a variety of resident types and are not merely catering to short-term rental needs, as had been suggested in the past.
As further proof of the resilience of the BtR sector, Quintain Living maintained occupancy across both the market rate and discount market rental product, throughout several national lockdowns in 2020 and collected an average of 98% of rents owed.
Danielle Bayless, Chief Operating Officer at Quintain Living, said: “The last couple of years have no doubt been a challenge for the whole industry, which is why Quintain Living’s performance this year comes as such as a testament to our team and our approach. The Build-to-Rent sector is still coming of age in the UK and we have drawn on learnings from the more mature US market to ensure that, as we grow, best practices are enshrined in the way we work. It has clearly paid off and has allowed us to reach and surpass our ambitious annual targets. We look forward to seeing what 2022 has in store for us, in Wembley Park and beyond.”
The characteristics of BtR, such as high-quality homes, varied amenities including balconies, roof terraces, work from home and social spaces and security of tenure, mean the sector has been an appealing choice for many in the context of the pandemic, when outdoor space has been at a premium and working from home spaces have become a key requirement.
To keep up with demand, the sector is expanding rapidly across the country, with more than 205,000 homes completed or in the pipeline, 43% of which are in London [2]. At Wembley Park, 2020 and 2021 saw Quintain deliver its highest ever number of homes, with 2,359 homes completed, taking the total across all tenures to 4,780.
James Saunders, CEO of Quintain Limited, added: “Last year’s incredible leasing performance has undoubtedly been the result of our fantastic team and bespoke training program together with our residential offer and market leading technology platform, but also of the placemaking strategy we’ve been developing for years. We both manage and curate the Wembley Park estate, which has allowed us to improve the quality of the public realm, for example, through the addition of the Olympic Steps, but also to ensure we bring in the kind of retailers, restaurants and cafes that add to the sense of community we’ve created. Never has the 15-minute city been more relevant as people spend more time in their neighbourhoods. People are attracted to both place and product and it’s crucial to look after both.”
-ENDS-
[1] https://bpf.org.uk/our-work/research-and-briefings/who-lives-in-build-to-rent/
[2]
https://bpf.org.uk/about-real-estate/build-to-rent/
