Developer says it has £500m land fund to buy sites over next two years

Avanton has announced plans for a major expansion into the London build-to-rent sector over the next three years with a plan to invest £500m in building 5,000 new homes.

The investor-developer said its new £500m land fund will target the acquisition of sites across inner London with a view to providing up to 5,000 build-to-rent homes by 2023, which it said will be delivered either alone or via JV partnerships.

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Avanton’s £730m Ruby Triangle development on Old Kent Road

It added that the focus for the fund will be for sites with land values of between £20m and £100m, including those with existing commercial consents which offer the potential for a change of use to residential.

The firm already has a number of large projects in its pipeline, including the £730m Ruby Triangle project on Old Kent Road in Southwark.

The 1,400-home Farrells-designed scheme, which is half build-to-rent, will consist of residential towers ranging from 17 to 48 storeys in height.

A JV between Avanton and ICG was also given the green light in January for a £250m Assael Architecture-designed scheme in Richmond providing more than 450 homes.

Avanton has also recently handed over a 169-home build-to-rent development in Battersea to project partner A2Dominion. The Patel Taylor-designed scheme consists of a pair of buildings of six- and 11- storeys in height.