CDL buys private rented sector development in London for £88 million

CITY Developments Ltd : C09 0% (CDL) on Wednesday (Feb 7) said it acquired Yardhouse, its first private rented sector (PRS) property in central London, for £88 million (S$148.6 million). (see amendment note)

The mainboard-listed property developer said it plans to develop the 250-year leasehold site into a 17-storey apartment block with 209 co-living studio units, totalling 102,600 square feet (sq ft) in gross floor area.

CDL will fund the land purchase and construction in payments staged according to progress, as part of a forward-funding arrangement. It has appointed a third-party developer to build the project at a fixed price.

Yardhouse is slated for completion in 2026. The land plot is located in central London at Wood Lane in White City, in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

It sits opposite the 9.3-hectare (ha) Imperial College campus and is within walking distance of Westfield London, the UK’s largest shopping centre. Nearby train stations include White City Underground Station and Wood Lane Underground Station.

The group’s £88 million forward-funding commitment includes the construction of a seven-storey block adjacent to the Yardhouse site for landowner Women’s Pioneer Housing (WPH), a non-profit which gives single women access to secure and affordable homes.

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The block will contain 60 housing units and commercial office space on the ground floor. The office space will house WPH’s operations when completed.

The acquisition comes amid an £8 billion regeneration programme for White City, after the 44.5-ha district was recognised as an opportunity area in the London Plan 2016.

“Despite macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges, the UK PRS has proven to be an exceptionally resilient asset class with robust operational performance,” said CDL group chief executive Sherman Kwek.

He noted that the acquisition will boost CDL’s portfolio to a total of 4,771 operational and pipeline units in the UK, Japan, Australia and the US.

Shares of CDL closed 1.4 per cent or S$0.08 higher at S$5.99 on Wednesday.

Amendment note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Yardhouse is CDL’s first PRS property in the UK when it is, in fact, in London.