£75m flats plan '˜one of biggest in Sheffield'

Private rented sector developer ‘Platform_’ is set to deliver its first new-build scheme after buying a Sheffield city centre site for a 300-unit development.

Until now Platform_, which is owned by private real estate investor and developer Westrock, has built its portfolio of five schemes by buying commercial units and converting those units into residential projects via permitted development rights.

But this week it completed the purchase of a development site in Sylvester Street in the heart of the city for an undisclosed sum, with planning permission to develop 200 homes and utilise 46,000 sq ft of commercial space.

Platform_ will bring forward a new planning application that boosts the number of homes planned to 300, making it one of the biggest build-to-rent schemes in the Steel City.

“Sheffield is growing and the continued focus on growing the ‘northern powerhouse’ will make the need for high-quality city centre housing even stronger over the coming years,” said the acquisitions director at Platform_, Stewart Knight.

Sheffield is expected to experience significant population growth over the next decade, but it has not yet attracted as many build-to-rent developers as Leeds.

Leeds has become a hotbed of activity over the past six months, with Grainger, L&G and Get Living all planning to build schemes there.

The Sheffield site is located close to the city’s railway station and next to both The Moor Shopping Centre and the Sheffield Retail Quarter – the latter of which is currently undergoing a £480 million redevelopment.

The deal is the first since Platform_ entered into a £115.8million joint venture with Invesco, seeded with Platform_’s five existing schemes.

The Sheffield purchase does not form part of the tie-up, but it is understood the project could be added to the joint venture in the future.

CBRE represented the vendor. Lambert Smith Hampton and Travers Smith advised Platform_.