Crest Nicholson has signed a deal with M&G Real Estate to acquire 97 rental homes for a development scheme in Bath.

M&G will provide £25.2 million to fund the development of the apartments and supporting community space, which form part of the wider Bath Riverside regeneration scheme within the city centre.

Crest Nicholson is both developer and contractor on the scheme. The units are expected to be completed between February and October 2016.

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Head of Residential Investment at M&G, Alex Greaves, said: "We very much welcome this initial transaction with Crest Nicholson and look forward to working with them on other schemes."

Chris Tinker, Executive Board member for Crest Nicholson, added: "This is an exciting development in Crest Nicholson’s drive to explore new models of housing delivery across the Southern half of the UK.

"With housing at the forefront of the political agenda, an institutionally funded private rented model has the potential to underpin a meaningful increase in housing output at a time when the need to sustain growth and meet housing need is at an all-time high."

(LM/CD)