Harrison Street and Cortland spot a gap for Watford BTR

The scheme is the first for the new joint venture between Harrison Street and Cortland, which has secured a pipeline of BTR projects across the UK and Ireland with a gross development value of £750m.

Robert Mathias, partner and head of international business at Harrison Street, said: “Watford is a highly attractive market, home to a growing, affluent renter population near numerous large employers, but faces a significant undersupply in high-quality rental housing options.

“We look forward to leveraging Cortland’s exceptional UK property development and residential management experience to build the portfolio by identifying and investing in markets backed by strong demographics.”

Paul Wrights, president – Europe at Cortland, added: “We are very grateful to have a like-minded partner in Harrison Street that is focused on delivering exceptional rental housing through a superior customer experience that puts the resident first.”

Gordon More, chief investment officer at Homes England, said: “Helping to bring a company with the build-to-rent credentials of Cortland to the UK is exactly the kind of market-diversifying deal Homes England was created to support.”