Grainger invests in newbuild rental homes Grainger, the residential property landlord, has announced its first acquisition of a build-to-rent property scheme, as owners and developers focus their attention on constructing homes specifically for rental tenants. The deal will see the company pay £13.7m to Bouygues Development for 100 residential units that are to be built as part of a regeneration scheme in Barking town centre, which is due to be completed in 2015. News of Grainger's investment in newbuild rental homes came on the same day that the government invited final bids from developers seeking finance from a new £200m build-to-let fund. This fund, announced last autumn as part of the government's housing stimulus package, will provide loans to kick-start the development of large housing schemes for the private rental market. It is expected to attract bids from a wide range of institutions, from housebuilders and housing associations to commercial developers. Institutions had until noon on Monday to submit their bids to the Homes and Communities Agency, with a shortlist of sites expected to be announced next month. The minimum size for schemes will be 100 homes. Jacqui Daly, director of residential research at Savills, said the funding could result in as many as 15 build-to-let sites coming on to the market over the next couple of years. Grainger's deal, and the government support for new projects, follows growing calls for new homes to be made available specifically for renters. Last August, a report on the private rental market, commissioned by the government from 3i chairman Sir Adrian Montague, made a number of recommendations aimed at encouraging institutions to invest in the sector. Already this year M&G Investments has agreed a £125m sale-and-leaseback deal of 401 flats with housing association Genesis. Ian Fletcher, director of policy at the British Property Federation, said the signs are positive for the fledgling build-to-let market. "The significant variety in these deals shows the exciting range of opportunities that exist for institutions building and investing in homes for rent," he said. Grainger said that, in addition to the Barking scheme, it had further build-to-let projects in the pipeline. Nick Jopling, executive director for property at Grainger, said: "Our acquisition of this build-to-rent block from Bouygues is a significant milestone for the private rented sector, putting into place a new template for the creation of purpose-built high quality and professionally managed rental accommodation."