Aviva Investors eyes build-to-rent earnings as it bolsters European team
Aviva Investors is looking to develop a build-to-rent portfolio in Spain worth €500m (£438m), having recently built out its European real estate investment team.
It is the second build-to-rent venture by Aviva Investors and its first in continental Europe, following its partnership with Packaged Living for 195 homes in the West Midlands, UK.
The asset manager has appointed four additions into its European real estate investment team since the beginning of the year, with two fund managers having joined in the past week alone.
The City investment giant is looking to continue growing its European team as it embarks on the build-to-rent partnership with Spanish developer Layetana Living.
The property duo, under the advice of Knight Frank, have secured a residential development project in Barcelona.
Similarly to London, the beach-side city welcomes an influx of rent-hungry foreigners looking to study and work every year.
The 71-unit scheme, located in the Sants district of Barcelona, is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
It comes as homeownership falls further out of reach for many across Europe, as an economic downturn sweeps the continent.
“It is exciting to have already secured our first project in the Catalonia region, where supply constraints and unaffordable prices are increasing rental demand,” head of European funds at Aviva Investors, George Fraser-Harding, said.
CEO of Layetana, Santi Mercadé, called the lack of rental supply across Spain as “dramatic” as house prices climb alongside inflation.
The build-to-rent sector has been picking up momentum in Spain, according to Knight Frank. Head of European residential investment transactions at the consultancy, Stuart Osborn, added that there is “long-term appetite for growth” in the sector.