urbanbubble announces that it is expanding its property management activities outside the North West as it secures further nationwide Build to Rent (BTR) schemes with Legal & General.
Following the success of the partnership’s inaugural BTR scheme, multi-award winning The Slate Yard in Salford, Greater Manchester, urbanbubble will now take on the management of Legal & General’s latest BTR schemes in Bath and Birmingham, alongside its newest acquisition in Deansgate, Manchester. With the extension of the partnership, urbanbubble will manage over 1,500 BTR apartments on behalf of Legal & General.
As with The Slate Yard, urbanbubble will be responsible for every aspect of the operational management of the new schemes, providing best customer practice and creating well-run rental communities across the country. urbanbubble will also support Legal & General in underwriting future acquisitions as the company seeks to rapidly expand its BTR portfolio to 6,000 units by the end of 2019.
The expansion of the alliance pre-empts financial results from urbanbubble, which will reveal a 33 per cent rise in revenue from £2.6m to £3.6m in the year ending June 2018.
Driven by urbanbubble’s increasing nationwide reach and growing number of units under management, forecast to almost double from 8,000 to more than 15,000 by 2021, the fast-growing firm, headed by founder and managing director Michael Howard, expects to see revenue rise to £6m in the year ending June 2019, with further growth to £9m in 2020 and to £12.5m in 2021.
In Manchester, urbanbubble expects to be managing some 2,500 residential units by late 2019, while in Liverpool the number of homes under its management is forecast to increase from 1,700 at present to about 4,000 by 2020. In these regions, the business manages schemes on behalf of Legal & General and other blue-chip clients such as English Cities Fund, Salboy, Elliot Group, PAG, Capital and Centric and Mulbury.
Delivering the expansion from urbanbubble’s head office in Sevendale House, Dale Street Manchester, will be a workforce set to double in size from 150 today to around 300 by late 2019.
Key to urbanbubble’s growth is its sector-leading focus on customer care and service, offering an entirely holistic approach, which has seen the Manchester-based business grow into a market leading BTR operator.
Michael Howard, founder and managing director of urbanbubble, said: “Our long-stated ambition to be the greatest residential property manager is being driven by our values-driven ethos of putting our customers at the heart of everything we do.
“urbanbubble’s partnership with Legal & General combines our commitment to the highest quality property management with Legal & General’s unerring focus on long-term management of blue-chip property assets to make our cities and towns better places to live.”
Dan Batterton, BTR Fund Manager at LGIM Real Assets, said: “We are pleased to be extending our partnership with urbanbubble, who are providing best in class management for our residents as we seek to improve standards across the rental market.
“urbanbubble shares our vision of providing homes for each individual rather than a one-size-fits-all flat to rent. This new level of service allowsfor all types of tenants’ needs and gives them choice. This new standard will help make renting an active option for those looking for a new home.”
