Corporate overview

Long Harbour is a specialist real estate investment, development, and management firm. Uniting market leading expertise across a range of assets classes, Long Harbour generates attractive returns for investors whilst seeking to create buildings of lasting value through thoughtful design and exemplary stewardship.

Long Harbour has a proven track record of AUM growth across its three investment programmes; Secured Income, Multi-Family and Regeneration.

Long Harbour’s approach to asset management is to make a positive impact in the communities in which it operates, whilst delivering long-term value to its investors through platform based, thematic strategies.

Long Harbour currently employs over 315 staff across its offices in the UK, Europe, and the US.

For more information, please see Longharbour.co.uk and follow us on LinkedIn

Sector forecasts

RESIDENTIAL: 

Build to Rent (BTR) has weathered the storm of the pandemic and is now well positioned to be a source of economic growth. Investment in the sector can make a substantive contribution towards the government’s ambitious housebuilding targets, while supporting regeneration and levelling up across the UK.

We have seen increasing investment into the BTR sector, thanks to its enduring resilience during periods of economic uncertainty. This is especially relevant today given the gloomy outlook as we move towards 2023. Ongoing confidence in BTR is driven by attractive demographics and a favourable supply/demand ratio.

There has been a significant geographical shift which has seen a growing demand for more suburban, family homes, with access to family-associated amenities such as community space, doctors surgeries, nurseries, leisure facilities and food and beverage outlets.

BTR is benefitting from the headwinds facing other real estate asset classes. A prime example is the demise of retail, which has left former department stores available for BTR conversion.

BTR has an important role to play in the sector wide ESG push, particularly in supporting key worker housing and creating energy efficient homes, utilising modern methods of construction.

As BTR renting becomes more prominent in consumer consciousness, branding is key, with operators working alongside experts to build brand recognition, loyalty, and trust. Customer service and lifestyle offer is an important component of this.

OTHER: 

The pandemic and resulting focus on health and well-being has boosted mixed-use development and the concept of the 15-minute city, where everyone is able to meet most, if not all, of their needs within a short walk or bike ride from their home. The move is supported by a growing body of research confirming the health and lifestyle benefits that can be achieved from shorter or fewer commutes, more time for family and friends and greener, more walkable neighbourhoods.

To support this approach, investors in this space will need to consider a deferred approach to financial returns, measuring the success of developments through social and environmental gains and a focus on longer-term value.

This approach fits with the sector’s increasing emphasis on ESG, which calls on the industry to incorporate greater resilience and sustainability, and with the needs of community in mind. As such, we anticipate that legacy and placemaking will continue to feature more prominently on the agenda with even more flagship examples of 15-minute cities popping up across city, suburban and rural locations.

Investment principles & strategy

Long Harbour’s investment approach has three key pillars:

  • Funds are allocated following a vigorous examination of key investment fundamentals to measure opportunities in real estate markets against a wide range of city criteria, including factors such as population, economy, infrastructure and employment. Adopting a strong research-led approach enables us to be strategic and create accurate return/risk profiles on a project-by-project basis.
  • The management of Long Harbour’s assets is brought in-house to deliver better customer service and maximise the value and performance of the buildings and investments. For example, Way of Life is Long Harbour’s award-winning consumer-facing BTR brand. ESG strategy is delivered in partnership with Longevity, the leading global sustainability consultancy that Long Harbour seed funded in 2015 and maintain a 50% stake in.
  • Identifying favourable social and economic characteristics helps us to be confident that funding is underwritten based on solid market data. This is supported by stringent risk control measures in the execution of asset development and management, working within the limits set by each investor and at the appropriate level for each product.

Strategic corporate development

Long Harbour continues to consolidate its position as a leading, full-cycle real estate investment, development, and property management firm:

  • Working together with our international investors PSP Investments and Cadillac Fairview, we have accelerated the deployment of our 1.5bn BTR platform, increasing our pipeline to 4,036 homes, almost double the previous year’s. In total, we have delivered circa 3,500 BTR homes since 2013
  • We are spearheading a ground lease revolution in Europe, to date acquiring 473,927 sq. ft of land across Dublin, Frankfurt, Munich, and the Netherlands.
  • We continue to deliver ambitious mixed-use developments. Our flagship regeneration project, Fawley Waterside, will deliver a smart town benefitting from freeport status and with the UK’s most digitally advanced infrastructure. Our second major scheme, the 8,500-home Northants scheme, is being delivered in partnership with Homes England.

Performance Verification

Over the past year, we have demonstrated resilience, continued to grow the business through existing strategies whilst assessing further growth opportunities. 

With over 1,000 operational residential units and a HomeViews score of 4.63/5, Way of Life is redefining customer experience in the Build to Rent sector. 

We have reinforced our purpose as a people-focused business, with strong ESG credentials.

 

COMPLIANCE STATEMENT

Long Harbour Ltd was authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority in 2013 to act as a full-scope alternative investment fund manager. We manage several real estate funds where the investment strategy is focused on providing investors with opportunities that offer attractive, risk adjusted, long-term, and highly diversified income returns.

In line with the current UK and global regulatory requirements, domestic and overseas investors can pass day-to-day portfolio and risk management of their investment to us and seek comfort that funds are held in compliant structures subject to robust ongoing monitoring.

 All Alternative Investment Funds managed by Long Harbour have an independent depository appointed to administer, monitor cash flow, and ensure the safe keeping of the underlying assets.