Federated Hermes has forward funded the next stage of Caddick Group’s SOYO neighbourhood in Leeds, which will be a 331-home scheme under its build-to-rent brand Hestia delivered by Caddick Group.

The scheme comprises two adjoining blocks in the new city centre district, with planning permission held for 331 apartments – a mixture of studio, 1,2 and 3 beds – as well as outdoor courtyards, and 12,000 sq ft retail, restaurant and ground floor amenity space. The blocks will be delivered alongside a new public realm including green spaces and a pedestrian square, in the fast-evolving cultural quarter of the city.

Leeds-based DLG Architects have been tasked with designing the buildings with sustainability credentials that go beyond current statutory requirements, using techniques to reduce embodied carbon alongside high levels of insulation and renewable technologies part-powering the building.

Scheduled for completion in late 2023, the project will support 2,000 construction jobs and 14 apprenticeships in the sector during the course of the build programme, which will be carried out by our sister company – Caddick Construction.

Will Gibby, Director, Fund Management – International Business of Federated Hermes, said: “Our focus remains on delivering high-quality, mid-market rental properties that drive value for all our stakeholders. The partnership with Caddick on the delivery of this exciting scheme will do just that for Leeds. Hestia’s four-year track-record of operating quality BtR assets has allowed us to identify an opportunity of institutional scale, within an exciting regeneration scheme benefiting from quality public realm and cultural amenities. We look forward to bringing this scheme forward with Caddick in the coming years.”

Myles Hartley, Managing Director of Caddick Developments said: “We are delighted to have secured this opportunity to work closely with one of the world’s leading investment managers and their experienced residential operational platform on their flagship Leeds BtR project. Our vertically integrated business provides a wide range of end-to-end services for institutions looking to enter the market and want to work both at scale and at speed. By working collaboratively with others, we expect the built to rent sector to have a hugely positive impact on the UK housing market over the next decade, improving living standards for millions of residents. SOYO will be at the forefront of that ambition.”

Caddick Group businesses Caddick Developments, Caddick Land and Caddick Construction will work with the project team to take the scheme from blueprint to delivery.

Casa by Moda will deliver and operate an initial 5,000 new family homes for rent in target suburban markets by 2025, which will have a combined value of £1bn.

The platform has already secured sites with space for 1,000 new homes, and the brand will onboard its first residents in the second quarter of 2022.

Residents will sign long-term renewable leases for up to three years.

Caddick Group is delivering the platform as well as co-investing alongside leading global institutional capital. The platform will be managed by the single-family housing division of Moda Living.

Rob Gill, head of acquisitions at Casa, said: “Casa by Moda has been years in the making, and we are thrilled to be able to share this terrific new venture with the public. Work is already underway at a number of sites so we can start delivering new homes as soon as next year. Our Casa locations are well-connected, close to good schools, leisure and retail, as well as being just 40 minutes from key cities across the UK. Because we’re backed by a leading investor, we are able to quickly progress new site opportunities with the aim of growing the Casa brand across the UK.”

Lydia Eustace, marketing director and head of wellbeing at Casa, said: “Casa by Moda will raise the bar for rental in the region, creating beautiful new family homes for rent. Our aim is to address the shortage of high-quality homes and improve the experience of residents let down by the current market. Changing the way people live for the better, all our residents will be offered on-demand mental-health services, access to wellbeing workshops and the opportunity to regularly connect with their neighbours. We know that 61% of renters feel lonely and that doesn’t need to be the case. By connecting our communities together and offering secure tenancies of up to three years, we’re able to create long-term, integrated neighbourhoods.”

Caddick Group has welcomed new solicitor Lucy Welch in the latest appointment to our growing in-house team, following Helen Gardner taking up the new role of head of legal earlier in the year.

Joining from Knights, Lucy brings more than 10 years of experience in residential development and will be working across the extensive Caddick Group portfolio.

Having completed her training at a boutique law firm in Westminster that specialised in housebuilding, Welch’s catalogue of experience includes working for larger law firms, including Addleshaw Goddard, Shulmans and Knights, with clients comprising of housebuilders of all sizes as well as housing associations.

We have made the appointment at an exciting time in the company’s journey, following the recent promotion of Helen, who will be leading the legal team. 

The new team will work on projects across the network of companies, including Caddick Developments, the Yorkshire-headquartered developer with a 16 million sqft pipeline of industrial and logistics projects and a pipeline of 11,000 new homes; Moda, the national build-to-rent specialist active in many of the UKs core cities; and Oakgate Group, which focuses on combining finance, development and assess management in and around historic cities.

Commenting on her appointment, Lucy said: “I was attracted to Caddick Group because of its impressive portfolio of landmark projects, particularly high-profile schemes such as Angel Gardens in Manchester and SOYO in Leeds. As a property business that involves several different elements from land, developments and construction teams, it’s exciting to be involved with a company that creates genuinely transformative projects from start to finish. Moving in-house will allow me to be much more hands on and allows me to get fully embedded in the projects and what they mean.”

Helen Gardner said: “We’re delighted to welcome Lucy to the legal team, and wider Caddick Group. She represents the latest in a series of exciting appointments. Her expertise in residential development will prove invaluable to our partners, stakeholders, and portfolio. We will continue to build our in-house legal team to help ensure the Group’s needs are met at this time of significant growth, whilst positioning ourselves for exciting future opportunities. In the meantime, we look forward to the progress that Caddick will be able to make with Lucy on board.”

With unprecedented demand for big box units and a lack of supply in the North West, we’ve updated our plans for Phase 1 of Farington Park.

After gaining outline planning permission for a footprint of 612,500 sq. ft in January 2021, our plans for Phase 1 include a single big-box unit totalling 557,500 sq. ft – one of the largest ever speculative logistics developments in the North West.

The scheme includes extensive landscaping and improvements to the cycle path and bridleway that runs through the site, which is part of the Leyland Loop. This will be upgraded in order to form a link between the nearby wider employment sites, as well as the residential communities across the River Lostock.

An eight-acre recreational area is also being created. This will include the opening of a previously culverted river, and extensive planting and ecological improvements designed to assist in flood alleviation plans for the wider region.

Steve Widdowson, Director at Caddick Developments and Head of the Manchester office, said: “We’re pleased to be taking on one of the largest ever projects of this nature in the North West. There’s a huge demand for large units in the area, and the Farington Park development should provide an ideally-located solution for a lot of industrial occupiers.”

“We’re working closely with partners to deliver this big box project, including industrial & logistics specialist KPP; planning consultants NJL; JPG engineers; Urban Green Environmental consultants; CWC MEP; Henry Riley cost consultants and Box Clever project management. The agents for the project are Rob Taylor at Cushman & Wakefield, and Sam Royle at Knight Frank.”

Myles Hartley, Managing Director of Caddick Developments, said: “Our vast experience in the logistics sector and integrated construction expertise means we can deliver quickly and with certainty in what is currently a challenging procurement market. Occupiers and funders are very attracted to our delivery model.”

Our landmark logistics and industrial hub located at Leeds Valley Park has been given the green light by members of the Leeds City Council Plans Panel, subject to the officers approving conditions and the section 106 agreement. We expect the scheme to bring a significant economic and employment boost to the region, and establish the site as Leeds’ premium ‘mid-box’ logistics location.

Situated between Junction 44 of the M1 and Junction 7 of the M621, the project – called Leeds Valley Park South – is ideally located for accessing regional and national road networks. The site sits within 15 minutes’ drive from Leeds City Centre, making it a prime location to attract local, regional and national businesses. Upon its completion, the 20-acre site is anticipated to create over 500 jobs.

Our proposals include the construction of six logistics and manufacturing buildings of varying sizes totalling 300,000sq ft of high-quality floor space, and will target enhanced environmental standards of BREEAM ‘very good’ and an EPC rating of ‘A’. Special attention has also been paid to the landscaping around the complex creating a welcoming work environment for the staff of the future occupiers.

With strong national levels of demand for industrial and logistics space, Leeds Valley Park South will make a significant contribution to meeting the regional requirements for developments of this quality and type. Given its strategic location and high specification design the scheme has already attracted interest from businesses looking to establish themselves in Leeds.

Jim Dyson, Director at Caddick Developments, said:

“We’re delighted with the outcome of the planning committee  and we look forward to working with officers on agreeing the finer details for our plans at Leeds Valley Park South. With its perfect location and high-quality design, the scheme will prove highly attractive for businesses across the region and the nation, establishing the site as the leading ‘mid-box’ logistics location in Leeds.

“We’re especially proud to be bringing forward a scheme which will contribute to the region’s economic fightback from the Covid-19 pandemic, by creating 500 jobs and bringing a boost to the local economy.

“Demand is incredibly high for developments of this type and size, and we’ve already started receiving interest from businesses looking to establish themselves in the area. This is an exciting time for the sector, and our scheme at Leeds Valley Park South will offer flexible commercial space to suit businesses of all shapes and sizes. We are looking forward to commencing construction work as soon as possible”

With over 40 years’ experience in residential, industrial and city centre regeneration, we’re thrilled to have received this recognition from our friends at Insider Media.

Of particular note was our work in the industrial and logistics sector, on projects such as Crosspoint33 in Wakefield for TJXEurope and with logistics specialist Panattoni to deliver phase two – now known as Wakefield515. On the regen front, we also made significant progress with SOYO and the first phase of the residential scheme for Moda. Once complete, the SOYO project will include a new bars and restaurants as well as high quality public realm and open green spaces – creating a new cultural heart for the city.
Also receiving a special mention – our work on Leeds Studios – which supported growth within the digital and creative sector, helping to attract Channel 4 to Leeds.

It’s been a big team effort and we’d like to say a huge well done and thank you to everyone involved!

We’re delighted to announce that Helen Gardner has been promoted to Head of Legal!

With over 20 years experience – including 8 at Caddick – she will now build a brand new legal team to support projects across the network including; Moda – the national built-to-rent specialist active in many of the UK’s core cities, Oakgate Group – which focuses on property development in York and Caddick Developments – Wetherby-based ‘sheds and beds’ developer with a 16 million sq. ft pipeline of industrial and logistics projects.

As Head of Legal, Helen – supported by her new team – will assume a group wide legal role to help Caddick’s transactions run smoothly. In the coming months, Helen will build a team of experts to help ensure the businesses needs are adequately catered for, whilst positioning for further growth.

Helen said: “It’s an exciting time to be involved with the strategic legal process for the next phase of the group’s growth. Caddick has some really exciting new schemes in the pipeline, both in the residential and industrial and logistics sectors. By streamlining our approach to legal transactions, we will be able to hugely enhance group wide efficiency and delivery.”

Johnny Caddick, Director of Caddick Group said: “Helen understands the development sector well and this appointment continues our drive and focus in growing the Caddick Group businesses. We have seen some fantastic projects come to life in recent years, and with activity continuing to ramp up, it’s vital we build an in-house team that has the skills and knowledge to back our ambitions. Helen will seek to build her own team, whilst working with our trusted network of external law firms to help further our business.”

The second phase of Moor Park 25, a major commercial development in Mirfield, is now underway!

We’re partnering with AAA Property Group to bring this development forward – providing a total of 180,000 sq. ft of much-needed logistics and commercial space, with five industrial buildings ranging between 19,500 – 59,000 sq. ft.

Located in close proximity to Junction 25 of the M62, the second phase of Moor Park 25 will be developed speculatively with work accelerated due to an increase in demand for properties of this type and size across the industrial and logistics market.

The site has been identified as one of 10 Enterprise Zones across the Leeds City Region area by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and benefits from a number of incentives available for future occupiers to help drive economic growth, which include business rate reductions and business support packages.

Our sister company Caddick Construction, have already made good progress on the 15-acre site, with completion anticipated for Q3 2021. Upon completion, the development could create up to 400 new jobs and provide a £12.5 million boost to the local economy.

 

Over the last few months, we have been recruiting for several positions due to rising demand within the industrial, logistics and residential sectors. We are pleased to say that we have five new members joining the Caddick Developments & Caddick Land teams to support our continued growth.

Based at Wetherby HQ, Jordan Martin joins us as Land Manager. With a background in residential sales, land and new homes divisions and site identification, Jordan will bring his expertise to our exciting new single family build-to-rent product and affordable housing projects.

Rosie Allsopp also joins our head office as Land & Planning Manager – with a strong background in planning across the residential, retail, commercial, education and leisure sectors. Specifically, Rosie will work on identifying and securing residential and industrial opportunities to feed our strategic land pipeline across the country.

Working within our Manchester office, Tom Park is our new Development Manager for the North West division. With extensive experience in the Industrial and Logistics sectors, he will now focus on growing our North West pipeline, as well as bearing responsibility for projects including Farington Park.

Also joining the North West team is Jonny Whiteley, who has been appointed as Land Manager. Jonny brings extensive experience and insight into the regions housing market and will help to develop our exciting single-family build-to-rent product.

Finally, we welcome James Edwards as Development Manager within our London office. He will play an active role across our living sector work in London and the South East by driving continued growth, and further strengthening our specialist end-to-end planning and development offer.