Perspectives on the England property market

Why England's housing undersupply underpins long-term value

England has lived with a structural gap between the number of homes it needs and the number it builds for decades. Successive governments have set ambitious housebuilding targets, and those targets have repeatedly been missed — leaving a cumulative shortfall that compounds year after year.

The reasons are persistent rather than cyclical. Planning constraints, the availability of suitable land and limited construction capacity all cap how quickly new stock can come online. At the same time, population growth and smaller average household sizes keep demand for housing firm across much of the country.

For investors, a durable supply-demand imbalance is one of the most reliable foundations for long-term value. Where quality homes are genuinely scarce, both capital values and rental income tend to prove resilient through the cycle. That is the backdrop against which we select assets — locations where the shortage is most acute and where well-executed repositioning meets real occupier need.

The North West regeneration story: Liverpool, Manchester & Bradford

Much of England's most compelling property value sits well outside London. Cities across the North West — Liverpool, Manchester and the wider region that includes Bradford — have seen sustained regeneration, infrastructure investment and population growth over the past two decades.

The income case is straightforward. Rental yields in these regional markets have historically run ahead of London and the South East, while entry prices remain materially lower. For a well-chosen asset, that combination improves the income profile and shortens the path to a healthy return.

Regeneration programmes, large university populations and expanding employment bases continue to support tenant demand. Repositioning older or underused buildings into quality housing aligns private capital with genuine local need — and our teams on the ground in Warrington and Bradford sit at the centre of that opportunity, sourcing and executing close to the assets themselves.

Asset-backed real estate: how security protects institutional capital

Asset-backed structuring means an investment is secured against a tangible property, rather than relying solely on a counterparty's promise to repay. It is the difference between an exposure underwritten by bricks and mortar and one underwritten by sentiment.

In practice this can take several forms: a legal charge over the underlying asset, a special-purpose vehicle that ring-fences each project, and governance designed to protect investor interests through the full lifecycle. Together they create a clear line of sight between the capital deployed and the real estate behind it.

The benefit is downside protection. Should a project underperform, the underlying property retains intrinsic value that can be realised — reducing the risk of total loss compared with unsecured exposures. For family offices, funds and private equity, that pairing of tangible security and disciplined execution is what separates institutional-grade real estate from speculative property investment.

Capital nonetheless remains at risk, and the value of investments can fall as well as rise. Asset-backing mitigates risk; it does not eliminate it.

From commercial to residential: the conversion opportunity

A growing share of England's new homes now comes from converting existing buildings rather than building from scratch. A more flexible planning stance towards bringing redundant offices, shops, pubs and other commercial space into residential use has opened a deep, continuous pipeline of opportunities — particularly across the North West.

For a disciplined operator, conversions can be faster and less capital-intensive than ground-up development: the structure already exists, the location is usually well established, and the route through planning can be shorter. The challenge is execution — judging which buildings genuinely work as homes, and pricing the works accurately before committing.

This is the heart of our model. We focus on the buildings others find too awkward — pubs, mills, warehouses, churches and tired commercial blocks — and bring the heritage, engineering and planning expertise needed to turn them into quality housing. Done well, it delivers homes where they are needed and value for the capital behind them.