single FAMILY BTR housing

Pioneers in the sector for over a decade, Sigma recognised the opportunity for the creation of an institutionally backed single family rental sector to respond to the ever increasing pressures in the UK housing market. Pressures brought about by a stalled planning system resulting in years of underbuilding, upward pressure on demand and an exodus of traditional buy to let investors disillusioned by the increasing costs of entry and ownership in the sector. Under its Simple Life brand, Sigma has led the SFR market with its understanding of the depth of market and sectoral advantages rental housing possess, particularly relating to the wide ranging appeal of its product across income, age and familial brackets.

CIRCA

8,526

houses completed
and contracted

CIRCA

£108m

ERV

CIRCA

£1.6bn

GDC

Stats based on assets currently under management

Through its well established BTR platform, Sigma has demonstrated the predictability and low risk income which is generated through the creation of SFR neighbourhoods. Its tenure blind, for sale specification homes are indistinguishable from those homes for sale on the same developments, provide accelerated income and return on capital for our housebuilding partners, whilst at the same time demonstrating strong operational performance with occupancy levels in the high 90%’s and LFL rental growth better than peers. The ability to scale and leverage is strong as both dual and tri tenure developments become the favoured way of delivering homes at pace to meet the upward pressure on demand.

Modern kitchen

Sigma’s single family offering includes 2, 3 and 4 bedroom homes in locations across the UK, from Scotland to Devon. All neighbourhoods are carefully selected, offering a plethora of existing amenity on our customers’ doorstep from healthcare, to shops and supermarkets, to good local transport links, good performing local schools and close to good employment hubs.

Dining room
Dining room

Drivers of Single Family Investment?

  • Lack of supply coupled with increased demand following 425,000 BTL landlords selling out since 2016 (CBRE). For that reason, the rental market is suffering from a severe supply shortage
  • Increased mortgage costs coupled with tax policies have driven individual landlords to exit the market, creating opportunity to take a market share
  • Affordability at an all time low with average house price to income ration exceeding 9x pushing would be buyers into the rental sector. Renting now cheaper than buying
  • Acute shortfall in supply – Annual new build completions have consistently been below the Government target;  currently the UK has a 4.3m backlog of homes
  • Significant population growth fuelling housing demand nationally, notably in metropolitan areas; growth is expected to continue with an additional 2.1m households forming by 2040
  • With less than 1% of the total UK’s 9 trillion pound housing market owned by institutions, there is a huge growth opportunity for BTR providers to unlock the ability to deliver at pace and scale
  • Falling planning permissions – There has been a stark decline in residential development decisions awarded in the last c.6 years, meaning that the current demand / supply dynamic is unlikely to change meaningfully in the short to mid-term

Sigma’s SINGLE FAMILY PLATFORM:

  • Experienced and proven management team with demonstrated industry leading track record in the sector
  • Selected growth market locations where rents can be set at levels which are attainable for the majority of the working population resulting in predictable occupancy, predictable Gross to Net leakage, providing investors with a risk mitigated model with strong investment characteristics
  • Delivering high quality, simple to manage housing, which allows for an attainable rent, low cost and predictable management
  • End-to-end platform with scale, positioned for stability and supply chain efficiencies
  • Sigma’s specification and construction requirements aim to future-proof the assets to ensure investment longevity and success (EPC rating, robust specification and warranties)
  • Differentiated underwriting leading to best-in-class returns throughout cycle
  • Strong, established relationships and streamlined working process with local authorities, housebuilders, Central Government, and many others, providing ability to consistently source and acquire assets at an attractive discount
  • Forward funding model implemented via fixed price contracts removing cost-overrun risk

SINGLE family Case Study Brochure

Sigma Capital Group: Single Family Housing
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