Potter Raper will be attending the Love to Rent Awards 2026 on Friday 23rd October at The Londoner, Leicester Square.
The awards celebrate quality rented homes and recognise the organisations and teams behind Build to Rent, single-family housing, co-living and later living developments across the UK.
Director, Toby Martin-Jay, will be attending alongside Project Directors, Simon Foulkes and Tom Poulton, while our Partnerships Director, Claire Flowers, joins the judging panel for the fourth consecutive year. This year, we are also proud to sponsor the Technology in BTR category, with Simon presenting the award on the night.
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A Changing Rental Market
The Build to Rent sector has changed. According to Savills, single-family housing accounted for 59% of all UK BTR investment in 2025, a record £3.17bn, while new BTR starts have fallen sharply, with more completions than starts for eight consecutive quarters. Single-family rent is meeting demand from households who want the space of a house with the security and service of professionally managed renting.
This is an area where we have deep experience. We have commissioned over 2,000 single-family homes in the last five years. At Mile End in Colchester, we acted as Employer’s Agent, Quantity Surveyor and Clerk of Works for Leaf Living on 171 houses and flats for private rent, handed over in phased parcels to keep homes reaching the rental market on programme.
The Power of Partnerships
Many sites stall not because of a lack of demand, but because no single party can carry the land, funding and delivery risk alone. Well-structured partnerships between landowners, developers, investors and operators can change that.
At Cromwell Road in Cambridge, we supported Cambridge Investment Partnership, an equal partnership between Cambridge City Council and Hill Partnerships, as Project Manager, Employer’s Agent, Quantity Surveyor, Clerk of Works and Joint Venture Supervisor on 295 homes, a nursery and a community centre. We set up an enabling works package so the partnership could record a start on site and meet its funding requirements, and advised on a significant tenure change during construction. The scheme won Silver for Best Partnership Scheme at the WhatHouse? Awards.
Find out more about our Partnerships and Joint Ventures service.
An Opportunity for the Public Sector
Councils and other public bodies hold land that could deliver much-needed homes. Build to Rent and single-family rent offer another route to bringing those sites forward, whether through a joint venture, a development partnership or a forward-funded scheme. Rental homes provide long-term income, support mixed-tenure communities and are less reliant on local sales rates, which can help keep delivery moving.
We work with local authorities, registered providers, developers and investors, so we understand each partner’s priorities and can help structure and manage schemes that work for everyone involved.
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Our Build to Rent Experience
We have supported over 2,800 Build to Rent units and more than £1bn of BTR development value across the UK, from single-family schemes to large urban developments, including Coppermaker Square in Stratford, Millers Quay at Wirral Waters and Bristol Temple Island.
How we can help
Whether you are a public sector landowner considering rental homes on your own sites, or a developer or investor bringing forward your next scheme, our multi-discipline team can support you from early feasibility and procurement through to handover and operational readiness.
Our services include project management, employer’s agent, quantity surveying, joint venture management, partnerships, fund and bank monitoring, building surveying, clerk of works, CDM Principal Designer and sustainability advice.
As an employee-owned business with a client retention rate of over 90%, we pride ourselves on providing senior involvement and continuity throughout every stage of a project.
To find out more, view our BTR experience brochure, contact our team, or come and say hello to Claire, Toby, Simon and Tom on the day.
