Grainger plc is targeting primarily key workers and recent graduates for their latest Build to Rent scheme in Salford. 

Clippers Quay, the largest open BTR development outside of London, is aimed at renters with an annual income of up to £27,000. 

The five-block apartment scheme, which features 614 homes, includes a range of onsite amenities, including a 24-hour gym, cinema room, co-working zone and private dining room, which residents can use freely at no extra charge with the option to pay to reserve for private events. 

Prices for a one-bedroom flat start at £900 per calendar month, with no service charge or letting fees, and Wi-Fi also included.

The £27,000 threshold – calculated at rent taking up no more than a third of a person’s annual income – makes a flat at Clippers Quay affordable to sharers on a graduate salary, which currently stands at £20,870 in Manchester according to the Centre for Cities. They are in theory also within reach for teachers and nurses, who start on around £22,000, and are looking to share with a friend or partner.

Grainger plc are also hoping to encourage graduates who studied in Manchester to stay in the city by providing accessibly priced, rental homes, as part of its mission to help regional cities boost their student retention rate. Manchester currently retains 51% of its graduates but it lags behind London, which keeps 77% of graduates.

Helen Gordon, chief executive at Grainger plc, commented: “The affordability and quality of housing in the UK remains a key issue, especially for renters. Grainger’s aim is to provide professionally managed, purpose-built, high-quality homes with a range of extra on-site facilities, such as gym, lounge and WiFi, free for all residents to use while still being affordable to people on ordinary incomes.

“For many key workers in the public sector or young professionals who have just graduated, a good quality rental home close to work can often feel out of reach financially, pushing them to live further and further out, which harms productivity by forcing people into longer and longer commutes.”