The Urban Splash Residential Fund and its investment adviser Sure Capital Partners have formed a partnership with sustainable developer Citu, signing a memorandum of understanding worth £200m.
The arrangement gives USRF priority access to Citu’s homes across Yorkshire for the next five years, marking a major step forward in the fund’s expansion.
The strategic partnership – USRF’s second, following a similar agreement with Urban Splash – covers 600 homes with opportunity to grow, and includes an initial purchase of 52 Citu homes within the Climate Innovation District in Leeds and at Kelham Central in Sheffield.
Both developments follow Citu’s placemaking principles of creating resilient, green, mixed-use neighbourhoods of low-energy homes and building through placemaking that is focused on people and communities. The homes further diversify USRF’s portfolio by adding more sustainable single-family homes to its current offering across the UK.
Akeel Malik, partner at Sure Capital Partners, said: “This deal connects capital with regeneration, allowing us to play a pivotal role in creating vibrant new neighbourhoods. Leeds and Sheffield are exciting, transformative cities where people want to live, work and play, and we are proud to help drive that change.
“Our mission is to cultivate a portfolio of design-led homes for renters – an approach that aligns perfectly with Citu. We have found the ideal product in the company’s award-winning homes and communities.”
Tom Bloxham MBE, also a partner at Sure, added: “Sure has investors ready to commit to design-led homes. It is a concept that has been proven with Urban Splash and now with Citu.
“I have long been an admirer of the regeneration work undertaken by the team at Citu and was very pleased to see this deal close. This is another example of how Sure Capital is bringing UK and international institutional capital to work supporting the very best UK SME developers such as Citu, Urban Splash and Javelin Block, with whom we completed a deal last year in Birmingham. This deal will both bring good returns to our investors and help fund much-needed new sustainable homes and regeneration in the UK regions.”
Yorkshire-based Citu has built innovative and eco-conscious developments across the UK, creating homes that conform to Passivhaus principles, making them approximately 75% more energy efficient than a traditional home in the UK. Citu’s homes are manufactured locally in its Yorkshire factory using modern methods of construction that substantially lower carbon emissions.
Jonathan Wilson, managing director at Citu, said: “This partnership marks a significant step forward for Citu, and we are delighted to have found an aligned partner with the right expertise and ambitions to join us on this journey.
“Our growth strategy focuses on creating exceptional sustainable places with a variety of tenures, and we are excited to introduce a rental offering to our developments, both now and in the future, with a partner that shares our vision and responsibility. This collaboration enables us to move ahead with confidence, and we look forward to the next steps.”
Image © Citu
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