Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, and leading Spanish developer Layetana Living partner to develop a portfolio of sustainable Build to Rent homes in Spain. The partnership – which will target a portfolio in excess of €500m – will establish a new operating brand under which assets will be managed, with operating services provided by Layetana Living.
“The lack of rental supply across most markets in Spain is dramatic and there is huge pent-up demand seeking a quality, affordable product. Our partnership with Aviva Investors creates a platform which will seek to address this imbalance and deliver a portfolio of high-quality apartments priced at economical rents under a single brand which will come to be recognised for its high construction standards, affordable prices, and extensive amenity space with a focus on outdoor provision.”
Santi Mercadé, CEO, Layetana
Aviva Investors and Layetana Living have already secured their first development project under the advice of global property consultancy Knight Frank, acquiring a residential development in the Sants district of Barcelona. The acquisition of the site benefits from an existing licence and construction has started. Expected to complete at the end of 2023, the 71-unit Build to Rent scheme will include associated amenity space, a roof terrace and café.
“We are pleased to be partnering with Layetana in the dynamic and evolving Spanish residential market, likewise, to be extending our Build to Rent investment programme into continental Europe. It is exciting to have already secured our first project in the Catalonia region, where supply constraints and unaffordable prices are increasing rental demand.
“The Spanish market is one which complements our growing European portfolio well, and our focus on delivering an active equity investment to clients. We believe this approach will best-serve our investors, with returns which can better-reflect the changing risks and longer-term structural changes occurring across today’s real estate market.”
George Fraser-Harding, Head of European Funds, Aviva Investors
The new partnership places a strong emphasis on sustainability – both embodied carbon as well as the ongoing energy consumption of homes. The Build to Rent homes will come with quality outdoor space for residents and technology provision fit for a low carbon future.
Aviva Investors entered the Build to Rent market in November 2021, in a partnership with Packaged Living to deliver energy efficient single-family Build to Rent homes in Telford, Shropshire. The partnership with Layetana Living is its second Build to Rent venture and its first in continental Europe.
Future opportunities targeted by the partnership will include both development and forward acquisition projects across major cities in Spain, with a core base in Madrid and Barcelona and a preference for locations with a core service offering and strong public transport links.
“We are seeing real momentum in the Build to Rent market in Spain, with investment volumes in the space set to double for 2022. This partnership not only demonstrates the long-term appetite for growth in Build to Rent, but also confidence in the fundamentals which underpin the residential investment market in Spain by committing to deliver market leading professionally managed, institutional product.”
Stuart Osborn, Head of European Residential Investment Transactions, Knight Frank
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