3rd February 2021

DTZ Investors Forward Funds 260-Room Battersea Co-living Scheme

DTZ Investors has forward funded a 260+ room scheme in Battersea for its co-living fund.

The Collective, which is the fund’s property and asset manager, will build and operate the development on Chatfield Road, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. When completed it will be the third asset in the fund following the forward funding of The Collective Harrow (announced October 2019) and The Collective Earlsfield (announced October 2020). The Collective Battersea will provide 35% affordable housing, available at discount market rent for people with starting salaries of £22,000 per annum.

Chris Cooper, Chief Executive Officer at DTZ Investors, said:Co-living as a sector has been remarkably resilient during the pandemic. The desire for human connection remains very strong and demand is highest in buildings that combine high quality living spaces with a wide range of communal amenities.

“The acquisition of The Collective Battersea marks another vital step toward fulfilling the investment strategy of our dedicated co-living investment vehicle, which now has a completed GDV of over £200m. Once fully capitalised, the fund’s portfolio of co-living buildings in prime locations across the capital will be home to 3,500 people. As well as providing shared spaces for people to spend time with one another and helping to tackle the loneliness problem, we are giving back through The Collective and the fund’s Community Investment Programme to support local social, environmental and charitable projects.”

Reza Merchant, Chief Executive Officer and founder of The Collective, said: “We’re pleased to close this deal with DTZ Investors and the COLIV fund – a further demonstration of institutional demand for our vertically integrated co-living model. We strongly believe consumer demand for our product to be counter-cyclical, and we’re pleased to see this validated in the current challenging economic climate.

“We’ve seen continued robust enquiries and bookings across our portfolio throughout the pandemic, driven by consumers’ increasing prioritisation of value for money, convenience and human connection in their choice of home. The Collective Battersea will be one of a number of our projects to go into construction in central London in 2021, all offering one-of-a-kind shared spaces, an inspiring events programme, and a vibrant community to call home. Our mission is to build a global network of spaces that enable people to lead more fulfilling lives and positively impact the neighbourhoods they’re part of, and this highly sustainable development with subsidised rents for local people is another big step on our journey.”

Strong alignment to ESG objectives

The fund is committed to delivering a sustainable housing solution that fosters diverse and supportive communities and promotes health and well-being, whilst delivering value for money for co-living residents.

The Collective Battersea will achieve BREEAM Excellent certification (aligned with the other buildings in the fund) reflecting the ambition to contribute to sustainable housing solutions for London.

The new affordable homes will be marketed exclusively to local people and key workers first, with nomination rights for the council reserved for subsequent occupants. The Collective Battersea will also include a gym and studio spaces, which will facilitate events based around health and wellbeing, that can be utilised by the wider community, as well as roof terraces, and outdoor spaces providing immediate access to the River Thames.

DTZ Investors’ and The Collective’s Community Investment Programme is already up-and-running, awarding grants to initiatives working to end homelessness, increase social mobility and create inclusive communities. In 2020 the fund awarded £10,000 to Harrow Mencap to pay for their Home Online Activities Network for a period of three months.

Location

The Collective Battersea is located just three miles south west of central London, with excellent rail links, with two stations within a 12-minute walk. Battersea itself benefits from a wide range of amenities, from culture and arts centres to a wide selection of restaurants and cafes. Convenience stores and a medical centre are in close proximity, as are a range of green spaces including Battersea Park, Clapham Common and Wandsworth Common.

COLIV momentum

This latest deal follows the launch of the fund, the world’s first institutional co-living investment vehicle, in October 2019 by DTZ Investors. It aims to raise total equity commitments of up to £650 million and to acquire, or forward fund, between six and ten co-living assets in London, with a target gross asset value of £1 billion across the life of the fund. In July 2020 DTZ Investors announced that Merseyside Pension fund had joined other investors, including the Strathclyde Pension Fund, in investing.

For media enquiries please contact:

DTZ Investors

Jeremy Durrant, Jamie Till

07792 918 648 / 07581 480 083

dtzinvestors@instinctif.com


About COLIV

COLIV is the world’s first fund dedicated solely to the co-living sector. The fund, which was set-up by DTZ Investors (DTZI) in partnership with The Collective, is seeking to acquire, or forward-fund, between six and ten purpose-built, large-scale co-living assets, all in the London area with an estimated gross asset value target of £1 billion. DTZI is the investment advisor for the fund, while global co-living pioneer The Collective is the asset manager and property manager. Alongside the investment opportunity, a guiding principle of the fund is to create broader positive impact. This includes making a positive impact toresidents; the neighbourhoods invested in and more widely on London’s housing shortage. Residentswill benefit from the strong sense of community, and management focused on wellbeing and personal development. COLIV will also help cohesion by opening its buildings for use by local community groups. A portion of the fund’s rental income will also help local community initiatives which have aligned social objectives. For more information, visit www.colivfund.com.

About DTZ Investors

DTZ Investors (DTZI) is a specialist European Real Estate Fund Manager, part of the Cushman & Wakefield Group. The business was established in 1968 in the UK and expanded into Continental Europe in 1999. DTZI’s team of c.100 professionals manage €15bn worth of real estate (June 2020) in Europe. The business manages assets for a range of domestic and international investors, including pension funds, insurance companies and private equity funds. DTZI is a full-service offering fund manager for discretionary and advisory accounts with a range of exposures from core to opportunistic risk profiles. DTZI advises clients on the full range of potential exposures to the asset class, including direct property, unlisted property funds and listed securities (REITs), with experience across both traditional real estate (retail, office, industrial) and alternative sectors (healthcare, student housing, leisure, residential). DTZI has secured 15 independent performance awards from IPD in the last 17 years. For more information, visit: www.dtzinvestors.com

About Cheyne Capital

Founded in 2000, Cheyne Capital is a London-based alternative investment fund manager.  Cheyne is known for its innovative approach and has been early and successful at delivering value to investors from important dislocations in the market place.  With an investment philosophy grounded in rigorous fundamental analysis, the firm’s areas of expertise are Real Estate Debt, Impact Real Estate, Investment-Grade Credit, Strategic Value Credit and Equity-Linked investing.

In real estate specifically, Cheyne has provided financing solutions since 2009 and now manages approximately £3 billion of assets across direct real estate lending and securitised real estate debt in Europe, as well as equity investments in UK affordable housing and German multi-family assets.  Within real estate credit, Cheyne seeks to provide specialised non-bank loans to borrowers in select European markets, with a flexible approach that enables it to invest into all parts of the capital structure.  The group has a strong track record in origination, structuring, execution, realisations and workouts, having committed £4.4 billion of capital across 94 private credit deals since the inception of CRECH, the firm’s direct real estate lending programme in 2011. https://www.cheynecapital.com/