NHBC, the UK’s largest new homes warranty and insurance provider, recently hosted the fourth annual Build to Rent Innovators, this year in partnership with Real Estate:UK. Held in central London, this year’s event saw more than 100 operators, developers, investors and other key industry stakeholders joined together to explore ‘The New Geography of BTR’, the evening’s theme.
Hosted by Niki Kyriacou, Sector Lead for Built to Rent at NHBC, and supported by Vanessa Hale, Chief Executive at Real Estate:UK, the event offered a varied agenda of topics, presentations and insight from some of the sector’s leading minds. Discussion about the state of the market, predictions for future of Build to Rent (BTR) and example case studies were shared by the evening’s distinguished speakers, and the audience had the opportunity to pose questions in a lively Q&A session.
Looking beyond London and the South, delegates were given thoughtful perspectives from the North and the Midlands. They heard how the market is now characterised by capital rebalancing across multiple locations, each with distinct demand profiles, return expectations and operational approaches. The impact of regional devolution under the new government, how Andy Burnham’s housebuilding ambitions could reshape BTR strategy, and the ways regional dynamics are influencing both BTR fundamentals and emerging asset typologies were also discussed.
Lord Gavin Barwell, a Managing Partner at NorthStar and Chairman of the NHBC Foundation, delivered the keynote speech. He talked about how to engage with government effectively, the possible advantages of reinstating Multiple Dwellings Relief and the need for a multi-sector approach to ease nationwide housing demand, among other topics. He later took questions from the floor about the state of the market and predictions for the future of the sector.
Bringing together many of the leading women of BTR, other expert speakers included Polly Simpson, Director and Head of Multifamily Development at Savills; Jacqui Daly, Director of Residential Research at Savills; Nuala Gallagher, Corporate Director of City Development at Liverpool City Council and Sarah Pickard, Group Funding and Delivery Partner Director at Keepmoat.
Niki Kyriacou, Sector Lead for Build to Rent at NHBC commented:
“It was an honour to host NHBC’s fourth annual BTR Innovators event and there was real energy in the room. Huge thanks must go to Vanessa Hale, everyone at Real Estate:UK and our expert speakers for helping make this year’s event such a success. Despite ongoing viability pressures and development hurdles, investor confidence remains remarkably resilient.
The BTR pipeline is healthy and we must continue to nurture expansion to help relieve the housing crisis in Britain and deliver quality homes at pace. NHBC is proud to be part of this, working in partnership with BTR developers and investors to help them build it right first time, reduce lifetime cost and protect yield.”
Vanessa Hale, Chief Executive at Real Estate:UK commented:
“It was a pleasure to partner with NHBC to help deliver this important sector event and my warm thanks to our esteemed speakers. BTR is now an undisputed key part of the UK housing mix and the opportunities for investors and developers are growing as demand for quality rented homes increases.
Housing is high on the political agenda and BTR is proving it has an important part to play in helping ease the housing shortages faced across the country. It’s vital the sector maintains momentum and continues delivering quality homes and leading the way in placemaking.”
A highlights video of the 2026 NHBC BTR Innovators event is available to view here.