Our Latest BTR Round-Up H1 2025

As we head towards the midway point of the year, we wanted to share how we’ve continued to invest in the growth and evolution of our BTR proposition both operationally and strategically. A few highlights include: 

Dougie Orton-Wade has joined us as Head of Build-to-Rent

Dougie’s appointment is instrumental as we ramp up in readiness for the operation of both in-house developments and third-party BTR projects; all of which will be fully managed and operated by our in-house lettings and facilities teams. 

With a decade of experience spanning student and BTR operations, Dougie Orton-Wade joins us to lead the operational strategy across our Build to Rent portfolio. His role supports our expanding pipeline and strengthens our ability to operate on behalf of investors beyond our own developments. This appointment is a key step in our ambition to redefine rental living by blending design-led developments with tech-enabled services that support a lean expenditure model.

Read more about Dougie’s appointment here.

A closer look at what’s shaping our approach to BTR

Dougie also joined Howard and Paul on the latest episode of our podcast to talk more about how we’re building a BTR model that puts long-term value and service-led management first. From the role of technology to delivering social value and community-led design. We explore how our collective experience across different property types is shaping our approach, and what it means to create spaces that work for both residents and investors. You can listen here or watch below: 

We’re rolling out the CERT Life app across all CERT-managed homes!

CERT Life allows our residents to manage all aspects of their home and lifestyle in one place while building communities based on shared interests and values. The app will roll out across all our in-house managed properties from Q2 2025.

The first phase of our launch to residents, happening in late-May, covers our completed projects in Old Trafford and Manchester City Centre, adding 205 residents to our app communities. By the end of the year our in-house BTR project SONA will go live on the app, along with our BTS projects Centric, in Liverpool City Centre, and Osborne Yard in Manchester City Centre. 

For investors and owners, CERT Life offers an unparalleled opportunity through enhanced services and commercial partnerships to generate additional revenue streams. The platform uses resident data to personalise their experience, helping us to create stronger community engagement across our developments.

Shortlisted for Property Week’s PropTech Solution of the Year

Our CERT Life Residents’ App has been shortlisted for Property Week’s PropTech Solution of the Year. The award recognises outstanding technology tailored to the needs of the property sector. The focus is on strong innovation, value gained by owners and/or occupiers, a robust business model, creativity, and a clear strategic vision.

Read more about the awards we’ve been shortlisted for so far in 2025 here.

We’ve set our sights on Eccles 

We’ve completed the acquisition of a promising site in Eccles. The long-vacant site, the former Vauxhall dealership on Albert Street, was acquired with planning permission secured for a 25-storey project of 256 apartments. 

We are now underway with a redesign for the site, reducing the project to 124 design-led homes, to make the project more in-keeping with the appearance of the local area, and to provide a wider variety of property types to suit the needs and lifestyles of the local community. The new planning application includes apartments over 6-storeys, plus thirteen townhouses with private gardens, across a mix of 1-, 2-, and 3 bedroom homes.

This marks our first investment in Eccles, complementing Salford City Council’s ambition to revitalise the town centre and create a vibrant, community-focused neighbourhood.

We’ve acquired the Shena Simon Campus for a client for a landmark hotel redevelopment

The purchase of the 97,000 sqft Shena Simon Campus by the Family Office of MyProtein & Verve Founder, Oliver Cookson, marks our largest ever transaction for a client. 

The Shena Simon Campus is in a thriving part of the city; next to the vibrant hospitality scene around Canal Street, a five-minute walk to Manchester Piccadilly Station, and the planned Sister science and technology innovation district, that intends to add two million sqft of workspace, leisure spaces, and nine acres of public space over the next 15 years. 

Our vision for the building is to bring a new hotel to this part of the city, to support the area’s ongoing growth. Discussions are underway with a leading global hotel operator, and our design team will be submitting redevelopment proposals for the campus in the coming months.

Our flagship suburban community living project

At Royal Canal Works, we’re developing a collection of high-quality homes that form our flagship Suburban Community Living project. Planning was obtained to increase the number of townhouses from 7 to 11 in the second half of last year. Following this, groundworks commenced and are well underway on site with the piling now complete, as we work towards a target completion of early 2026. This exemplar scheme marks an important step in our strategic move into the suburban BTR market.

Hitting milestones at our Peelers Yard BTR project

Over at Peelers Yard, the steel frame is now being erected, a key milestone that brings our BTR project one step closer to structural completion. Now up to level 2, the building is taking shape as the L-shape building sympathetically showcases a landmark chimney, which has been an important feature to the overall design. Completing in 2026, the building will comprise of 82 apartments and will be the newest addition to the New Cross area, which has seen significant investment over the past few years, helping to transform the area into a thriving residential hub for those looking to live within easy walking distance to the city centre.

If you’d like to talk about our build to rent expertise, either in terms of management or development, then please get in touch.