Moda Living and Apache Capital to invest £10m into Hove project

Moda Living, an owner-operator of private, build-to-rent (BTR) homes, and its joint venture, Apache Capital Partners, have taken the final step towards its vision to provide 824 homes in Hove, with the signing of its Section 106 community legal agreement valued at over £10 million.

The community agreement is one of the largest planning contributions to public amenity by a private company in Brighton & Hove in a decade and is set to be invested locally in infrastructure, education, public art and aiding the community.

Under plans approved by Brighton and Hove Council earlier this year, Moda will deliver 564 new homes for rent delivered alongside 260 senior living homes, with 10% of the BTR homes offered as affordable housing and charged at a 25% discount to Local Market Rent.

The signing of the agreement will see the Sackville Trading Estate, a largely rundown brownfield site adjacent to Hove station, soon transformed into a thriving inter-generational community.

Moda hopes to begin developing the site in 2021, with over 560 full-time jobs set to be created, helping to drive economic growth in the vicinity.

James Blakey, planning director at Moda Living, comments: “As an operator first and foremost, we’re looking to invest and grow in the communities we seek to create. Hove will be as much a home for Moda as for our residents. That’s why we’re so happy to be able to invest in the ways set out in this Section 106 agreement.”

Family-backed Moda and Apache Capital currently have £850 million of live schemes under construction across the UK – the first phase of the joint venture’s £2.5 billion pipeline of over £7,500 rent-only homes.

The Sackville Trading Estate had been identified for development and the approved plans will transform the site into a multi-generational community. This is set to raise the standards for rental housing in Hove and introduce public amenity spaces and social infrastructure for residents and the wider community, plus features to promote integrated healthy living.

Moda and Apache Capital will invest into recreational amenities and sustainable transport initiatives, including a bike scheme at the development, giving residents access to an environmentally friendly, healthy and economical means of transport in and around town.

For those who drive, or need a car for the day, there will also be a Car Club, provided by Brighton and Hove, which will allow residents to hire or share a convenience car.

The scheme will also include communal lounges with events and wellbeing workshops, private dining areas, restaurants, shops, a village hall, 50,000 q ft of office and co-working space to foster emerging businesses, five communal roof terraces, gardens and open spaces.

For those living in the senior living accommodation, the section 106 agreement guarantees that they will be provided with 24/7 availability of emergency care onsite, security, a minimum of four hours of personal care to those who need it, regular reviews of the residents’ care needs, and the provision of at least one daily meal.

“Our build-to-rent neighbourhoods are introducing a completely new way of living and working,” Blakey says. “We provide more opportunities, amenities, options and facilities than ever before, all built sustainably with an especially strong commitment to their local communities, something that is even more important at difficult times such as this. At Moda we are certain that service and support for residents must be at the core of what we do.”

Richard Jackson, co-founder and managing director and managing director at Apache Capital, says the Hove site with Moda marks one of their largest and most ambitious projects to date.

He adds: “Both the UK build-to-rent and senior living sectors are in demand from institutional capital as they are structurally supported by long-term demographic growth drivers and a demand-supply imbalance, with a lack of high quality, professionally managed, purpose-built properties set against a growing number of privately renting households and an ageing population. As a result, for institutional investors wanting to access resilient, long-term income streams to match their liabilities, the two sectors hold huge promise.”

Peter Kyle, MP for Hove, comments: “This is great news as our communities will now be able to see the benefits of the regeneration of this tired area. I'm particularly looking forward to seeing nearly £1.8 million spent on outdoor/indoor sports, parks and gardens, children’s play space, allotments and our greenspace.”

“With council budgets slashed and the residents of Hove needing enhanced outdoor space in our Covid-19 era, this money will fulfil this need.”

Moda does not require deposits or levy service charges from residents, while the monthly rental payments include access to an extensive range of amenities, including a gym, wellbeing zones, shared work space, lounges, internet and reduced electricity costs.