Project stories
The Arches – A purpose-built BTR development in the heart of Leicester city centre, The Arches was acquired by our client on behalf of a major European institutional investor. With a number of existing Build to Rent competitors on the doorstep, our team was asked to create a superior look and feel for the apartments so potential residents could really notice the difference.
Our brief was to reflect key elements of the brand in the design of the show apartments, which we achieved successfully using colour and artworks. As with all our schemes, we selected robust furniture pieces designed to last but with comfort for residents being at the top of the list.
Given the high proportion of people now working away from the office, several apartments also featured home-working desks and the overall quality of the furniture offer has been a crucial factor in this successful lease-up.
The Headline – This is the first Build to Rent development in Leeds for Grainger plc and the Fika team is proud to have been awarded the furniture supply contract for the 242-apartments on the former site of The Yorkshire Post headquarters.
With rental demand in the city almost entirely for furnished apartments, it was essential that we selected furniture pieces to meet the aspirations of the target demographic with a strong emphasis on creating a feeling of being ‘at home’ with warmth and texture.
The Fika installation team built a strong relationship with Grainger’s onsite management and we are delighted to have had hugely positive feedback on the quality of furnishing as well as our delivery. Grainger reported The Headline to be their fastest ever lease-up of a BTR development.
Botanica — launched in early 2021, this 363-Build to Rent development on the edge of Manchester city centre is setting out to get noticed. With intense competition in the city centre rental market, the furniture is an important part of the resident appeal
Fika has set out to meet a clear brief to supply furniture with design flare, which is comfortable for residents but also offers a strong lifecycle to minimise the cost of future replacements. We have worked with our European factory to create some specific pieces for this exciting new Build to Rent development and we are also delighted to be supplying furnishing for all resident amenity areas.
Peckham Place – a rather special scheme of one, two and three bedroom rental apartments in the heart of Peckham. Acquired by our client DWS, many of the 115 quality homes offer phenomenal views of the city including The Shard, with the rare benefit a private garden courtyard. The apartments have been designed with very spacious living and bedroom areas, which provided for a variety of furnishing options.
The Fika designed show apartment interiors have been created to reflect two main themes for this project. The first suggests a querky, creative, youthful vibe associated with Peckham, whilst our second apartment theme shows a more sophisticated, grown up approach to interior design.
We accepted the challenge to design and complete installation of the show apartments in super quick time so they could be photographed for marketing purposes and turned the entire project around in less than 3 weeks. All apartments have been stylishly furnished using robust, contract quality materials and fabrics, which is part of the Fika hallmark.
Baltic Yard — an exceptional one, two and three-bedroom Build to Rent development in the heart of Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle. Launching in Q4 2020, this standout scheme is setting a new bar for apartment rental in the city and the furniture is no exception
When we first discussed furnishing with our client, major US investment group Heitman, the brief was simple: we want Baltic Yard to stand out from the crowd. This is what we love and we have set about choosing furniture pieces that really will differentiate this smart Build to Rent development from the typical rental product.
However with lifecycle an important consideration, the furnishing is not about style over substance. We have created a range manufactured using commercial grade fabrics and robust materials that will stand the test of time.
Clayworks — the first Build to Rent scheme in Stoke on Trent, developed and owned by Fortior Homes, part of Stoke on Trent City Council. This 151-apartment development has changed the quality of the rental offer in the city
Fika was asked to supply a furniture range that would set Clayworks aside from the typical buy-to-let property whilst staying within an affordable budget. The result has been a smart selection of furniture pieces which fit with tone of the development.
The feedback has been excellent with the development more than fifty per cent let prior to practical completion helped in part by the show apartments, fully installed by the Fika team.
The Astley — an M&G Real Estate investment, is a superb Built to Rent development situated in Manchester’s trendy Northern Quarter offering residents a high-quality rental offer.
Fika developed a furniture selection designed to appeal to new residents as part of the marketing offer and to create a comfortable living environment where people could relax and feel at home.
Our installation team initially delivered and installed the furniture for fifty apartments but that number quickly increased as the demand for furnished rentals grew. Our flexible approach meant that the client could request apartments to be furnished as they let and on one occasion we even worked through the night to meet move-in deadlines.
