A property development consultancy is tipping five regeneration areas in England as potential good investments for the coming year.
SevenCapital says they have the common denominator of being relatively modestly priced now, allowing investors in the long term to reap the benefits of high yields and capital growth.
It says the five are:
Sheffield – Having already completed The Heart of the City masterplan, which saw substantial regeneration pre-pandemic, a new £470m Heart of the City II masterplan is underway.
With planning proposals for 1.5 million sq ft of redevelopment including leisure facilities, apartments, public spaces and retail units, it’s expected this scheme will deliver between 5,000 to 7,000 new local jobs.
SevenCapital says this is “a bona fide tick in the box of any private landlord looking for an area with increasing tenant demand.”
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Birmingham – The UK’s second city has undergone a massive transformation over the past 20 years, with a raft of major regeneration projects already under its belt or well underway including the Bullring, New Street Station and Grand Central, the £700m Paradise redevelopment and Arena Central.
The Midlands Metro expansion, which is underway, is expected to boost property prices nearby by up to six per cent.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games, HS2 and Birmingham Smithfield Regeneration are all in the pipeline.
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Leeds – The city has a £3m revamp to the main City station and a £270m facelift for the West End of the city centre underway.
A further £18.6m is earmarked for three more projects: transformation of City Park in the South Bank, redevelopment of Temple Green Park and Ride and a scheme to renovate older homes in the Holbeck area of the city.
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Manchester – Although it’s seen vast regeneration in the past 20 years there is still more to come, insists SevenCapital, with the largest plans including the £800m NOMA project in the north of the city, set to transform nearly four million square feet into office, retail and leisure space.
In addition to this there are also plans to renovate three key train stations – Oxford Road, Piccadilly and Victoria, which will mean better, faster connectivity across the city.
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Slough: Nearly 46 per cent of home purchases here already are to those leaving London, and the town sites on the Crossrail route which has already boosted prices.
Development already in place includes The Curve – a public arts and library venue – plus several leisure and sports facilities
In the pipeline are plans which will help transform Slough’s main high street, via a complete redevelopment of the old Queensmere Shopping Centre in the town centre – a site spanning nearly one million square feet of office space and 500,000 square feet of retail units.
Andy Foote, director at SevenCapital, says:“Regeneration is all about placemaking; transforming an area into somewhere that is attractive to the public as a place to enjoy living, working, socialising and relaxing.
“That includes having the right infrastructure to improve connections to key locations, for commuting in and out. All of this is what helps to attract and increase demand from tenants, which is key to a successful investment.”
