Gorgie Road site offered as BTR sector picks up – Daily Business

A two-acre site in the Gorgie area of Edinburgh is being offered for sale as the build-to-rent market shows signs of revival.

The site at 454 Gorgie Road is currently occupied by a retail showroom and industrial unit with a lease expiring next March.

Scarlett Land and Development says the site offers multiple uses, but the living sector is the most likely opportunity.

56three architects has undertaken a series of feasibility studies but the indicative scheme proposes three blocks of residential apartments providing a total of 196 homes.

The site is leased to Volkswagen Group UK and was previously occupied by a car showroom. It has a passing rent of £370,000 a year and is sub-let to Gymfinity and Four Square.

The agent said the BTR market in Edinburgh is still in its infancy and the pipeline in the city has been curtailed by rent control measures. Only 2,275 units have been approved compared with 12,815 units in the pipeline in Manchester.

Scotland’s temporary rent control measures, introduced in 2022 to address the cost-of-living crisis, concluded on 31 March.

Housing Minister Paul McLennan confirmed that from 1 April, landlords will be able to set open market rents without restrictions, at least until the Housing (Scotland) Bill potentially introduces new controls in 2027.

A report by Rettie said 14,000 BTR homes in Scotland are stalled because of investor concerns over the rentalpolicy. This equates to about £2 billion in potential construction work.

Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) developments, which were exempt from the rent restrictions, have seen continued growth. This prompted some developers to pivot their focus from BTR to PBSA projects during the rent control period.