Long Harbour has agreed to forward-fund 175 new single-family rental homes in Derby and Desborough—its first acquisitions in the East Midlands for the Long Harbour Single Family Housing Fund (LHSFF)—as the fund targets £1.2 billion of investment including debt.

The real estate investment manager has struck a deal with FTSE 250 housebuilder Bellway to deliver 94 homes at Snelsmoor Village, Derby, and 81 at Weavers Fields, Desborough, for LHSFF. The transaction deepens a decade-long partnership, with Bellway's track record for efficient, large-scale delivery of high-quality homes aligning with the fund’s aims.

At Snelsmoor Village, the rental properties form part of a wider masterplan for 795 homes alongside a 60-acre country park, woodland and a playing field, with a nursery and primary school already delivered. The site sits three miles from Derby city centre, under five miles from East Midlands Airport and 12 miles from Nottingham. Derby’s strong education offer, major employment base and connectivity support demand for family rentals, and the city is a prominent hub for advanced manufacturing and engineering, with large Rolls Royce, Toyota and Alstom campuses within commuting distance.

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Weavers Fields is within walking distance of Desborough's traditional market-town centre, which hosts a weekly farmers’ market. Nearby Market Harborough provides direct trains to London St Pancras in under an hour, appealing to commuters. The scheme will help meet considerable demand for high-quality, affordable housing, with convenient access to Kettering and the villages of Rushton and Braybrooke, offering a mix of town and country amenities and leisure facilities.

To date, LHSFF has committed around £200 million to acquisitions that will deliver almost 500 homes, with a further £500 million of identified opportunities. The fund has also secured an additional £100 million from the National Housing Bank and is targeting a total investment of £1.2 billion including debt.

The strategy is focused on robust demographic trends, high population and employment density, and strong road and rail connectivity across the UK regions, with particular emphasis on the South and South East. In the East Midlands, rental growth has exceeded the UK average, while average annual rent relative to income is the second lowest of any region in England and Wales.

Jack Spearman, Managing Director of Single Family Housing at Long Harbour, said: "Our latest acquisition of two new sites underlines the momentum behind our single family strategy and our strong relationships with housebuilders. The East Midlands region is an area with high economic growth prospects and a strong demand for rental housing. These high quality homes delivered by Bellway offer a superior product to existing housing stock in the area, which combined with our Way of Life management offer makes a compelling offer to local renters."