Moda Living reaches £850m of live schemes on site across the UK with Scottish Debut

Moda Living, a leading developer, operator and owner of private, build-to-rent housing, has appointed Robertson as the main contractor on the first phase of their Springside scheme in central Edinburgh, with construction work due to start in Feb 2020.

• Moda Living has appointed Robertson to deliver the first phase of their Springside development in central Edinburgh, their first underway in Scotland
• With 5 sites now under construction (2,500 homes), one operational flagship and more planned to start on site in 2020, Moda Living is helping to lead the growth of the build-to-rent sector across the UK
• Moda Living and Apache Capital Partners have a £2.5bn development pipeline of over 7,500 rent-only homes across England and Scotland. The largest privately funded platform in the UK
• Moda Living and Apache Capital have one of the largest BtR pipelines in Scotland with c. 1,000 units across Edinburgh and Glasgow

This is the first of Moda Living's sites in Scotland, and fifth in the UK. Once completed, Springside will offer 476 homes designed exclusively for rent, next generation resident amenities and 25,000sqft of retail & leisure space. The neighbourhood, purchased off market from Grosvenor Great Britain and Ireland, sits at the heart of the historic Fountainbridge district in Scotland's capital.

Moda Living, and funding partner London based Apache Capital Partners, has one of the most ambitious build-to-rent development pipelines in the UK with 5 sites under development and more expected to start on site during 2020. The partnership is on target to be opening 125 homes a month by the end of 2021. It officially opened its flagship 35-storey, 530,000sqft neighbourhood, Angel Gardens, Manchester development in October last year as well as starting on site at New York Square, Leeds, totalling 515 homes, and The Mercian, at 42 storeys its Birmingham and the Midlands tallest residential tower under construction. Work is also already underway at The Lexington in Liverpool, a 34-storey tower that will deliver a further 325 homes. With further projects across the UK in varying stages of design, planning and development it takes the pipeline to 7,500 homes and growing.

Moda Living is leading the sector in terms of scale of development and it comes at a time when new figures from the National House Building Council, published early this month, reveal a rapid acceleration in the number of build-to-rent flats completed last year, increasing by 57% to just under 4,800 units compared to 2018.

Across Moda's growing portfolio, including Springside, residents will have access to 450,000sq. ft. of amenity space, including specialist health and wellbeing facilities, communal lounges and roof terraces, as well as fully managed communal gardens with each space tailored to fit with its surrounding environment. This is in addition to 300,000sq. ft. commercial space, and 90,000sq. ft. of co-working space. This 'all-in' approach is unique in the sector and aims to deliver a new way of living and renting that puts wellbeing and community at its heart.

Robertson, one of the largest family-owned construction, infrastructure and support services businesses in the UK, has a track record of over 50 years delivering large-scale private and public sector projects. Recently completed projects include The Balfour, an advanced NHS facility in Orkney, and The Event Complex Aberdeen, a hotel and conference centre combined with a carbon neutral energy centre.

Moda received planning for the second phase of Springside, which includes 139 homes in December 2019 with works for the final phase likely to continue after phase one completion.

Tony Brooks, managing director at Moda Living, said: "Build-to-rent is changing the way people live in the UK and at Moda we strongly believe that service must no longer be seen as a premium but instead the uncompromising core of the offer. We are very excited to have one of the most ambitious Build-to-Rent pipelines in the UK and are thrilled that Edinburgh is our latest development to begin construction.

"We were an early mover into Scottish build-to-rent and able to secure a prime site in Edinburgh off-market from one of the biggest names in property thanks to the strength of our delivery team and unrivalled nature of our consumer offer, which puts customer wellbeing at its core.

"Robertson is one of Scotland's leading contractors with a proven track record of delivery across multiple sectors and have a strong relationship with the local supply chain and we're looking forward to working with them to bring Springside to completion."

Liam Hanlon, managing director, major projects, Robertson, said: "We have been working with Moda Living and funding partner Apache Capital for the last 18 months to bring this project to fruition and we're are looking forward to commencing on site. Our shared approach to quality, innovation and collaboration will result in a new definition of renting in the capital."