Guest writer, Ahmed El Gamri, senior account executive for Yardi.
It was a pleasure to attend another fantastic ARL Study Tour sponsored by Yardi. This time we visited the evergreen city of Milton Keynes. Historically known for its roundabouts, forestry and commutability into London, MK has recently emerged as ‘technology hub’ in its own right.
Home to the likes of Red Bull Racing, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Yardi to name just a few, the economy in Milton Keynes is thriving, marked by innovative spirit and strategic growth. Known for its extensive urban green spaces, the city has become a magnet for talent and businesses. It is the only UK city designed and purpose built with business growth in mind. So, it was only right the ARL brought the successful Study Tour to Milton Keynes for the latest edition to explore the residential boom across the city.
Discovering Milton Keynes BTR Scene
Before the tour began, we started with a presentation from Ed Howe of Bidwell. He shared some market insights on the residential sector in Milton Keynes, covering everything from frequency of trains, current population, operational units, development pipeline, new players investing in residential development in Milton Keynes, and the different types of tenure within a community across BTR and SFH in the city.
We then received a talk from Zora Vukovic and Mya Bridgeman of HomeViews who shared data insights on how the operational units are performing against expectation from a resident’s perspective, resident satisfaction, transport links to the city and key topics of discussion amongst residents, such as requests for additional private parking.
Exploring Park Square MK
Our first stop was Park Square by Corebridge managed by Native Residential, now boasting 329 apartments in the centre of Milton Keynes, mostly occupied by young working professionals. Park Square is a brownfield regeneration of the former Wyevale Garden City which previously laid derelict for 15 years. The tour of the pet-friendly, 11-storey main building was led by General Manager, Holly Birmingham, after an introduction to the development from Robert Tooth and Leasing Manager, Caley Merchant.
Almere MK
Next up, we visited Almere by Invesco. Another scheme managed by Native Residential, Holly and the rest of the team. Boasting an impressive outdoor terrace and free vend coffee across the communal areas, the Almere has an above 95% occupancy. A testament to the Native team who drive home the importance of community across Almere’s 11 and 17 storey buildings.
During the lunch break, we had some fantastic talks from Yardi’s Georgie Drewery, and Packaged Living’s Eleanor Fiennes and Sophie Gunn, as they announced their first zero bills development in partnership with Octopus Energy and the CEO of the MK community foundation, Ian Revel, before we replenished and reenergised as we had lunch in the sun, ahead of the second part of the day.
Arbour MK
Our next scheme was Arbour by Pension Insurance Corporation. The 306-unit development had actually PC’d a day prior to our tour. Sam Winnard and the team were finalising some last-minute details ahead of the first residents moving in this week, many of which are young professionals with an engineering background. This fantastic scheme boasts 43 different apartment types, with Spring and Autumn concept interiors on alternating floors, linking to the forestry theme that is prevalent throughout the city.
Enigma MK
Our last stop on the tour was Enigma by Grainger. Head of Resident Services, Jodie Buck, led the tour through the impressive development where we also had the pleasure of meeting Grainger’s Director of BTR, Anish Thobani. They spoke to us about how important data is to operate a successful BTR development. With 261 apartments across two interlinking eight-storey blocks, since its opening in 2022, Enigma has built a strong cohort of young professionals with a background in finance, IT and engineering.
Thanks to all who contributed to making this another successful study tour. A massive thank you to The Association for Rental Living team Graham Sibley and Brendan Geraghty for organising yet another insightful tour. Also, thank you to the Owners and Operators who allow us to come and tour their developments and gain a great deal of insight on the requirements to develop and operate such incredible communities.
I’m very much looking forward to the next edition of the Study Tour that takes place in a little over a month, this time covering the city of Leicester!
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