Preston development named top buy-to-let investment opportunity

Property investment company Fabrik Invest has pinpointed the Bishopgate Gardens development as one of its top five buy-to-let hotspots for the year ahead.

Fabrik says the UK’s buy-to-let market could be in for a bumper year in 2021, after the 2019-20 English Housing Survey revealed the private rented sector houses 19 per cent of England’s households – some 4.4 million households.

Dale Anderson, Fabrik managing director, said: “The Stamp Duty deadline, Brexit and Covid are going to create some interesting conditions for the UK’s property investment market in 2021.

“Underpinning all of these is the country’s continued shortfall of housing supply, which creates an inviting marketplace for investors looking to pick up rental properties this year.”

Under the terms of the stamp-duty holiday, the first £500,000 of any property purchase is exempt from the tax. However, from April 1, the threshold will reduce to £125,000.

Bishopgate Gardens, Ormskirk Road, was formerly the site of two Department for Work and Pensions office blocks, Red Rose and Elizabeth House.

Fabrik says: “Regeneration schemes are at the heart of Preston’s appeal. The Preston City Deal is overseeing the investment of £434 million into local transport infrastructure and public realm, while major regeneration is under way in the Harris Quarter, Stoneygate and Preston’s new urban park.

“Ideally positioned to benefit from the works taking place next to it, Bishopgate Gardens is a luxury development of 130 apartments in Preston city centre.

“The one, two and three-bedroom homes come with exceptional communal spaces, while ground-floor retail units add neighbourhood appeal.

“It is this kind of flagship development, which serves to offer a new standard of living in the city, that Fabrik believes will be at the forefront of investors’ minds in 2021.”

Preston is among “five key locations that should be on savvy investors’ radars in 2021”, according to Fabrik.

These include Manchester, for its rapidly rising property prices and rents and strong long-term prospects, York, “a firm favourite with everyone from investors to owner-occupiers seeking out a city with charm”, Birmingham, “with its shortfall of more than 30,000 homes”, and Chatham, Kent, described as a London commuter belt location that is “significantly more affordable” than the capital.