• Key staff promoted across investment management business and wholly owned build-to-rent developer-operator 
• Promotions follow broadened strategy for Present Made, which will work with third-party delivery partners to rapidly scale pipeline 
• Today’s announcement follows formation of joint venture between Apache Capital and Nuveen Real Estate to fund single-family housing via Present Made 
  
  Apache Capital, a leading UK real estate investment manager focused exclusively on the living sectors, has made three promotions to help support the continued growth of its single-family housing platform, Present Made: 
  

• Duncan Williams, previously Head of Land and Planning at Present Made, has been promoted to Acquisitions Director. His new role will see him work with Present Made’s managing director Alan Penfold to establish joint venture partnerships with quality housebuilders and SME developers and identify forward funding opportunities as part of Present Made’s expanded strategy.  
  
• Emma Giannini, previously Associate Director, has been promoted to Senior Associate Director – Transactions & Structuring, at Apache Capital. Her role has been expanded to include a greater focus on Present Made, which is targeting an initial £1.5bn portfolio of circa 3,000 homes.
   
• Nikki King, previously Associate Director, who has been promoted to ESG & Operations Director at Apache Capital. Her updated role will see her focus increase on Present Made and the platform’s third-party delivery partners, bringing her experience from working with Moda, the development and operational partner on Apache Capital’s prime multi-family housing strategy. 
  
  This month, Apache Capital announced the creation of a new joint venture with Nuveen Real Estate to fund the delivery of single-family build-to-rent housing across the UK, which will be developed and operated by Present Made. The first scheme to be funded is a 373-home development in Eddington, Cambridge, which forms a key part of the University’s North West Master-plan. 
  
  Earlier this year, Present Made, which is wholly owned by Apache Capital, announced the reorienting of its strategy away from purely direct development to include working with third-party developers, including volume housebuilders, to rapidly scale the platform. 
  
  The Present Made team will be involved in the design and delivery of all schemes to ensure they meet the company’s ESG criteria and brand standards concerning amenity and service provision. Present Made will operate all sites for the long term and is targeting a net zero carbon operational model.  
  
  Mervyn Howard, Executive Chairman at Apache Capital, said: “The widening of Present Made’s strategy to include partnering with third-party developers will allow us to accelerate pipeline growth, which will be further enabled by the newly established joint venture with Nuveen. However, what we recognise is the key to any venture’s success is having the right people and investing in staff is just as about important as investing in the right places and sectors, so we are pleased to announce a number of promotions across our main business and single-family subsidiary.” 

Nuveen Real Estate, one of the largest real estate investment managers in the world with $152 billion of assets under management, has formed a joint venture (‘JV’) with UK-focused real estate investment manager Apache Capital to fund single-family build-to-rent (‘BTR’) housing across the UK. All sites will be developed and operated for the long-term by Present Made, Apache Capital’s wholly owned single-family BTR platform.  

The JV will operate on a programmatic basis, with each site assessed individually. Nuveen Real Estate and Apache Capital will work together to continue to source other opportunities to grow Present Made’s portfolio.   

The first site to be funded will be Present Made’s 373-home development in Eddington, Cambridge, which is being delivered in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and benefits from full planning approval. The scheme forms a key part of the University’s 150-hectare North West Cambridge masterplan, which includes 3,000 homes (of which 50% are for University key workers as affordable housing), 2,000 student beds, 100,000 sq. m. of employment space and 5,300 sq. m. of retail.  

Alongside high-quality housing built exclusively for rent, Present Made of Eddington will provide a range of amenities and shared spaces, including a communal pavilion, gym, yoga studio, private dining room, bike café, games room, cinema and co-working space. This will make Present Made of Eddington Cambridge’s first purpose-built and designed rental housing development with on-site professional management and amenity provision.  

The Present Made team will provide round-the-clock resident support, be responsible for all maintenance as well as running a year-long calendar of social and wellbeing activities. These will include zero waste pop-ups, cycling and running clubs, cultural celebrations, live music, art classes, cooking classes, charitable events and talks from inspirational people.  

Start on-site at Present Made of Eddington is expected later this month. Bennett Construction has been appointed as main contractor, with practical completion expected in late 2025. Alternative lender BentallGreenOak has provided a development loan facility for the project.  

The scheme is targeting Code for Sustainable Homes Level 5 and will be compliant with the new Part L Building Regulations, which will see a dramatic enhancement to energy efficiency and reduction in CO2 emissions.  

Jasper Gilbey, Head of Housing, Alternatives and Strategic Transactions at Nuveen Real Estate, said: “Single family housing remains one of our core investment strategies within the living space – underpinned by a chronic undersupply of high quality professionally managed rental accommodation. Our partnership with Apache Capital provides us with a great opportunity to satisfy the growing tenant demand in strategic growth markets like Cambridge and we look forward to realising this exciting project together.”  

Limor Shklaz, Director of Housing, Alternatives and Strategic Transactions at Nuveen Real Estate, said: “Present Made of Eddington will provide a distinctive rental offering that will be the first of its kind in Cambridge. Central to this offering will be the core principles of community, sustainability and wellbeing. The design and development of the scheme will apply leading practices for energy efficiency, renewable energy and water conservation, while achieving a biodiversity net gain – ultimately to the benefit of our residents.”  

John Dunkerley, Chief Executive Officer at Apache Capital, said: “With Nuveen Real Estate as a funding partner, we are looking to replicate the success of our prime multi-family strategy to create a market-leading single-family platform in Present Made. Our flagship development in Eddington will push the boundaries of quality in both design and operations, creating a community that will support the University’s wider ambitions with the North-West Cambridge masterplan.”  

Alan Penfold, Managing Director at Present Made, said: “Between Nuveen Real Estate and the University of Cambridge’s Estates Division, we have two best-in-class partners to support the delivery of Present Made of Eddington. There is growing demand for high quality rental housing outside of city centres that provides both a lifestyle and a home, which we are looking to satisfy through Present Made, with Eddington serving as ‘proof-of-concept’ through the quality of its consumer offering.”  

Matt Johnson, Head of Development for North West Cambridge at the University of Cambridge, said: “Eddington is an exemplary neighbourhood home to a growing and diverse community of residents, students, businesses and service providers. Through our work with leading development partners, we are continuing to deliver much needed homes, across a range of tenures, which can support the continued growth of the Cambridge eco-system. Present Made will deliver high quality homes for rent providing residents with homes that support sustainable lifestyles, flexibility and choice. We look forward to welcoming the residents of Present Made to the community.”   

Martin Sheridan, Managing Director in BGO’s European Debt team: “BGO are very pleased to be supporting the Nuveen and Present Made JV in building out this prestigious and innovative single-family housing development in Cambridge. The transaction is consistent with our debt investment thesis of backing high quality institutional sponsors in delivering best-in-class properties with a laser focus on sustainability, wellbeing and the community. We have worked with the wider Apache group on multiple multi-family deals over the years and are excited to play a role in their new single-family housing platform as well.” 

Alan Penfold has been promoted to managing director of Present Made, the single-family build-to-rent housing platform of Apache Capital, an investment manager focused exclusively on UK living real estate.

Penfold, who had previously been an executive director at Present Made, will work closely alongside Apache Capital’s CEO John Dunkerley and chairman Mervyn Howard following the departure of founding partner Richard Jackson. 

Penfold spent four years as a director at Apache Capital before moving over to Present Made and brings over 15 years’ experience in housebuilding. Before joining Apache Capital, he held land and development-focused roles at Barratt Homes, Bellway Homes and Crest Nicholson. 

Under Penfold’s leadership, Present Made will broaden its strategy to include working with other developers, including volume housebuilders, as part of plans to rapidly scale the platform.

The Present Made team will be involved in the design and delivery of all schemes to ensure they meet the company’s ESG criteria and brand standards concerning amenity and service provision. Present Made will operate all sites for the long term and is targeting a net zero carbon operational model. 

Launched in 2021 by Apache Capital, Present Made secured its first planning consent in Summer 2022 to develop a 373-home neighbourhood in Eddington in partnership with the University of Cambridge. 

Alan Penfold, managing director at Present Made, said: “My ambition is to build on the excellent work that has been done so far in establishing Present Made as a leading player in the single-family build-to-rent space. 

“The key to success for any operational business is scale and right now we see a major opportunity in working with other delivery partners to rapidly grow our portfolio of sites. 

“We see our emphasis on all aspects of masterplanning and ESG, combined with strong branding that is underpinned high levels of service and high-quality design, as both a key differentiator and source of value creation.

“This conviction will be reflected throughout all our developments, including those delivered in partnership with third parties, all of which we will own, manage and operate for the long term.”

John Dunkerley, Apache Capital CEO, said: “Having been involved with Present Made since concept stage and with a solid background in housebuilding, Alan is perfectly positioned to take the business to the next stage. He brings to the table a wealth of experience and will build on our 15-year track record of delivering high-quality, professionally managed housing.

“From student accommodation through to senior housing and multi-family build-to-rent, our approach has been to work with best-in-class partners to create a leading market product that sets new benchmarks for quality, and we will continue this through with Present Made.

“The market conditions right now favour counter-cyclical asset classes like build-to-rent and we want to work with those looking to diversify into what is a fast-growing sector.

“By accelerating the growth of Present Made through the right partnerships, we can achieve scale faster and drive operational efficiencies without compromising on the qualities that will ensure our investments perform strongly over the long-term.”

The JV, which was formed in 2018 to fund premium BTR developments across the UK, now includes six assets, representing a total of 3,050 homes. In addition to Great Charles Street, current projects include Moda, The Mercian, also in Birmingham, Moda, The McEwan in Edinburgh, Moda, The Lexington in Liverpool, Moda, New York Square in Leeds, and Moda, Holland Park in Glasgow.

The announcement marks the largest regional BTR funding deal completed in the UK. Moda will develop, manage, and operate the £302m (GDV) Great Charles Street, which is set to begin phased delivery in October 2025 and will prioritize leading ESG certifications.

The development is one of the largest regeneration projects in Birmingham City Centre and within walking distance to key leisure destinations. Once completed, it will offer 722 homes for rent, ranging from spacious studios to three-bedroom apartments with exclusive views over one of Birmingham’s oldest districts, the Jewellery Quarter.  

Residents will benefit from a range of luxury finishes and amenities, including a rooftop terrace and BBQ areas, gym with personal training and classes, bicycle storage, washing and repair station, residents’ lounges, private dining, cinema room, meeting rooms and co-working space and secure parking, as well as a 24-hour concierge and onsite security.

New public realm and green spaces at ground level will provide new walking and pedestrian routes, as well as community facilities, including retail and leisure units, at the former brownfield site, which has been undeveloped for more than 50 years.

Paul Bashir, Chief Executive Officer of Harrison Street’s European business, said, “We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with Apache, a leading investor in the premium UK build-to-rent space and Moda, a leading developer in the UK and pioneer in the build-to-rent sector, to bring this development to Birmingham. The Birmingham market is backed by strong demographics, with the greatest concentration of businesses outside of London and home to many leading universities. This transaction underscores our continued efforts to invest in premium BTR assets in leading markets across Europe.”

John Dunkerley, CEO at Apache Capital, said, “Today’s announcement – the largest regional build-to-rent funding deal to date – underlines our conviction in build-to-rent as a major institutional asset class. It also demonstrates the enduring appeal of our highly amenitised, highly serviced model, which has been proven by the success of our first Birmingham asset, The Mercian. In Harrison Street, NFU Mutual and Moda Living, we have a set of experienced partners that have helped us build a market-leading platform and we are pleased to have expanded it with this transaction.”

Johnny Caddick, CEO at Moda Living, said, “This is a huge moment for Moda Living, securing what is the market’s largest ever regional deal for a BTR asset. It’s testament to the teamwork of our team and partners Harrison Street, NFU Mutual and Apache Capital that have worked tirelessly to overcome multiple headwinds and get this over the line. Birmingham is a key city for Moda and another scheme with all the fundamentals that create an incredible place for residents to live. We look forward to working with Harrison Street, Apache, Birmingham City Council and other key stakeholders to get this fantastic project out the ground.”

Ian Ward, Leader, Birmingham City Council, said: “This is a hugely exciting project, breathing life and community back into a key central site which has been unused for more than 50 years. Moda’s development at Great Charles Street will deliver much-needed new homes to Birmingham and will be central to the ongoing transformation of the city centre. I look forward to working with Moda, Harrison Street, NFU Mutual and Apache Capital as they deliver this exciting new chapter for the Jewellery Quarter.”

Will Jordan, Partner at Knight Frank, said, “This is a landmark deal for the UK’s BTR market. As the biggest agreement ever signed outside of London, Moda, Harrison Street, NFU Mutual and Apache have blazed a trail in what is a huge show of confidence for a market that continues to go from strength to strength despite challenging economic headwinds. We’re delighted to have advised the parties to help them reach this fantastic milestone, and we look forward to seeing Great Charles Street delivered in what will be a majorly beneficial addition to the Birmingham skyline.”

Tom Bostock, property investment manager at NFU Mutual, whose headquarters are in the West Midlands in nearby Warwickshire, said, “We are pleased to expand our build-to-rent joint venture with Apache Capital and Harrison Street. High quality, purpose-built rental accommodation such as our Great Charles Street development provides long term steady income streams while helping major cities like Birmingham attract and retain talent. The regeneration of the site is underpinned by an intense focus on ESG that is in line with our corporate vision, illustrated through the socio-economic benefits for the local community and a wide range of carbon cutting measures at the construction and operational phase.”

Harrison Street’s European strategy encompasses alternative investments in student accommodation, senior housing, build-to-rent residential, and life sciences real estate. The Firm’s build-to-rent experience in Europe includes 16 assets totalling approximately 5,650 units across the UK, Spain and Ireland. The portfolio includes eight assets in the UK with over 3,000 residential units developed to date in partnership with experienced local developers and operators.