Knight Frank has been appointed by Legal & General to launch a prime Build To Rent investment opportunity in Manchester – but only to those with access to huge sums.

The Slate Yard, in Manchester’s thriving New Bailey regeneration area, is available at a guide price of £110m.

The Slate Yard is described as a high-quality purpose-built BTR asset, completed in phases between 2017 and 2020, comprising 424 apartments across three buildings, offering a total of 275,115 square feet of high specification living accommodation.

Strategically positioned on the northern bank of the River Irwell, The Slate Yard is part of the larger £1 billion New Bailey regeneration project, which has significantly extended Manchester’s Central Business District (CBD). 

The scheme is already home to renowned corporate tenants such as BT, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and Eversheds Sutherland, underscoring the area’s appeal as a prime business and residential location.

The Slate Yard offers a diverse unit mix, with apartments ranging from one to three bedrooms, and boasts extensive amenities, including a state-of-the-art gym, a residents’ lounge, co-working spaces, and 24/7 concierge services. The development’s environmental credentials are called “exceptional” with features such as fossil fuel-free energy, a high average EPC rating of B83 and in excess of 200 photovoltaic panels.

Lloyd Wraith, a partner in the Residential Investment team at Knight Frank, says: “The Slate Yard is one of the finest BTR schemes within Manchester, occupying an unrivalled position within the city. The scheme has a broad and deep appeal to residents resulting in incredibly strong occupational performance. 

“Access to stabilised investments of this quality and scale is limited and we are excited to bring this exceptional residential investment opportunity to market”.

Dan Batterton, Head of Residential at Legal & General’s Asset Management Division, comments: “Having launched our Build to Rent Strategy in 2016, the Slate Yard marked our first BTR investment; we have since deployed over £3bn of institutional capital into the sector and expanded our portfolio to 24 schemes across 13 cities – we’ve been on a rapid trajectory of growth and look forward to continuing with this as precedent.

“Given the successful delivery of The Slate Yard, we are now in a position to bring the asset to market and identify new opportunities for investment. We look forward to re-deploying this capital back into the sector, as we continue to underpin L&G’s commitment to unlocking more homes across the UK.”