Robertson named lead contractor for 476-home Edinburgh neighbourhood

● Work to begin this month on Moda’s £215m build-to-rent site in city centre

Property developer Moda Living has appointed Robertson as the main contractor for a bumper project to build hundreds of homes in central Edinburgh.

Previously valued as a £215 million development, the Springside scheme will offer 476 build-to-rent properties in the capital’s Fountainbridge.

Work is due to start this month, with Scottish construction and infrastructure group Robertson delivering the first phase of the scheme. Planning permission for the second phase was granted in December and will begin after phase one completion.

Springfield is designed to include “next generation” resident amenities and 25,000 square feet of retail and leisure space. The site, purchased off market from Grosvenor Great Britain and Ireland, marks Moda’s first project in Scotland.

Together with its funding partner, London-based Apache Capital Partners, Moda claims one of the most ambitious build-to-rent development pipelines in the UK, with five sites underway and more expected to start this year. This includes 1,000 units across Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The partnership is on target to be opening 125 homes a month by the end of 2021.

Moda MD Tony Brooks said: “Build-to-rent is changing the way people live in the UK and at Moda we strongly believe that service must no longer be seen as a premium but instead the uncompromising core of the offer.

“We were an early mover into Scottish build-to-rent and able to secure a prime site in Edinburgh off-market from one of the biggest names in property thanks to the strength of our delivery team and unrivalled nature of our consumer offer, which puts customer wellbeing at its core.

“Robertson is one of Scotland’s leading contractors with a proven track record of delivery across multiple sectors and have a strong relationship with the local supply chain and we’re looking forward to working with them to bring Springside to completion.”

The Scottish group’s recently completed projects include The Balfour, an advanced NHS facility in Orkney, and The Event Complex Aberdeen, a hotel and conference centre combined with a carbon neutral energy centre.

Liam Hanlon, MD of major projects at Robertson, added: “We have been working with Moda Living and funding partner Apache Capital for the last 18 months to bring this project to fruition and we’re are looking forward to commencing on site.”