Trust focused on private rented sector secures £200m in additional funds
Sigma Capital Group, the Edinburgh-head quartered residential development and urban regeneration specialist, said a trust set up to invest in new-build homes for the private rented sector had secured a £200 million funding boost.
The PRS REIT, one of a growing number of real estate investment trusts listed on the London stock market, has agreed a further £200m of debt facilities with Scottish Widows and Lloyds Bank.
The facilities were negotiated by the trust’s investment adviser, Sigma PRS Management, and they bring the total balance of deployable funds available to the company to £900m.
Last month, Sigma Capital Group announced that it was pushing into the Scottish priva te rented sector with the launch of a dedicated £43m fund.
The firm has b een largely focused on property projects and investments south of the B order but said demand for rental homes in Scotland was strong.
Its S cottish PRS Fund will have initial resources of £43m, with £30m provided by the Scottish Government’s Building Scotland Fund in the form of a revolving credit facility and the balance provided by Sigma.
The firm, which also has offices in Manchester and London, claimed the fund would be the “first dedicated vehicle to focus on the creation of new rental homes for families in the private rented sector in Scotland”. Appraisals of a number of sites are currently underway, it added.
Chief executive Graham Barnet said: “Our approach to housing deliver y has been working extremely well in England, delivering thousands of new houses for the private rental market. We see significant demand for our high-quality, professionallymanaged homes in Scotland .”