It’s been a busy first quarter for our client, Placefirst. The developer and operator of rental homes (and specialist in single-family housing) has been in a period of accelerated growth and is targeting new geographies as its customer-centric, community-driven strategy reaps rewards.
In early January, its first private sector joint venture was announced – with housebuilder Strata, through which the pair plan to deliver more than 500 single-family homes beginning with a 128-home development in Leeds. The story was covered widely in property trade media in outlets such as Property Week, Inside Housing and Green Street News.
In the same week, Placefirst’s Farringdon Row scheme in Sunderland – part of the city’s Riverside Sunderland regeneration masterplan – received planning approval. Placefirst will begin transforming the 4.57-acre brownfield site into a high-quality 165-home neighbourhood by June 2025. The story was covered in BBC News as well as the property trade press, including gEstates Gazette and Housing Today.
Not long afterward, Placefirst appointed a new operations director in Mark Hawley, formerly of Bruntwood Scitech, to ensure Placefirst’s internal operations scale up with its ambitious growth plans – a story covered in the real estate press.
Just three weeks into the year, Placefirst announced forward-funding deals with Miller Homes and Vistry alongside a new ambition to deliver 1,000 homes a year, which again piqued the interest of property media.
In late January came another major announcement – Placefirst’s parent company Matter Real Estate led a £145 million funding round for the firm, with institutional giants UBS, GCM Grosvenor and Aberdeen all committing capital. This demonstrated not only the appeal of single-family housing as an asset class, but the success of Placefirst’s business model specifically. The story was widely covered in the financial and property media in the UK and internationally.
Another financial story came in February, with ICG Real Estate providing a £200 million development finance facility to support Placefirst’s continued growth.
Back on the local level, Placefirst was recently chosen by Bury Council to convert an office building into 74 new homes, in a move that is set to form part of the revitalisation of the town centre. And at its Benwell Dene development near Newcastle, currently being constructed by contractor Lovell, the two firms formed an educational partnership with a local primary school.
All in all, a very active start to the year. With momentum continuing to build, expect more exciting updates from Placefirst in the months ahead.
