The UK’s largest corporate landlord, Grainger plc, has spent £31m to buy an existing 135-home Build To Rent scheme in Manchester from M&G Real Estate.

The Astley is in Manchester’s Northern Quarter and adds to Grainger’s existing cluster of some 1,700 rental homes in the region.

The £31m acquisition was supported by Grainger’s ongoing accelerated Asset Recycling Programme. 

The company has also disposed of an older BTR scheme of 80 homes in London for some £27m, enabling it to recycle its capital into The Astley, which it says is “a higher yielding BTR asset.”

Grainger chief executive Helen Gordon says:  “The Astley is an excellent acquisition. A stabilised, income-producing, high-quality build to rent asset of 135 homes within our existing Manchester cluster, supported by our ongoing asset recycling programme. [This] acquisition is earnings-accretive and reflects the increasing number of opportunities we are seeing in the market to acquire existing build to rent assets.”