Pinnacle Group grows Wood Wharf presence with 72 new affordable homes
Pinnacle Group has expanded its role at Wood Wharf in Canary Wharf, London, with the addition of 72 new affordable rented apartments, delivered in partnership with CBRE Investment Management (“CBRE IM”) and CWG. The first residents are now moving into their new homes.
The addition represents a significant expansion of Pinnacle's presence at Wood Wharf, where it already provides housing management services for 143 affordable rented homes across two blocks, 50 Harbord Square and 65 Harbord Square.
Located at 13 Brannan Street, the new homes will help meet growing demand for affordable housing in one of London's highest-need areas.
The latest phase forms part of CBRE UK Affordable Housing Fund's acquisition of 294 affordable homes at Wood Wharf, with a further 222 homes due to be delivered over the coming months.
"Creating great places to live is about more than building homes. Through our partnership with CBRE IM and CWG, we're committed to providing the high-quality housing management services that help residents feel supported and communities flourish. We're looking forward to continuing that work as our role at Wood Wharf grows."
Claire Kober
Managing Director, Homes for Pinnacle Group
Pinnacle will provide a full range of housing management services for the new homes, including tenancy management, resident support, repairs and maintenance coordination and oversight of communal areas, ensuring residents receive a high standard of service from the moment they move in.
The new tenants will also be included in Pinnacle’s school uniform campaign, which offers vouchers to help families with the cost of school uniform.
The handover marks an important milestone in the ongoing delivery of affordable housing at Wood Wharf and builds on the successful partnership between Pinnacle, CBRE IM and CWG, which began in 2021 when Pinnacle was appointed to manage the first affordable rented homes within the development.
What the Housing Community Summit taught us about connecting with residents
The Housing Community Summit brings together thousands of housing professionals, stakeholders and residents to talk about the future of the sector. This year, our Divisional Director of Operations, Ollie Miller attended and came away with some reflections on where our industry is heading and what it means for the people we serve.
Professional standards shouldn't come at the cost of diverse experience
One conversation stood out on day one of the Summit. Gossica Anichebe, a member of the G15 Residents Group, spoke about the importance of ensuring professional standards don't become a barrier to the diverse experience and perspectives our sector benefits from.
Competencies, conduct and upskilling all matter, but they should widen the pool of people bringing insight and lived experience into housing, not narrow it.
At Pinnacle, this is central to how we think about our own teams. The people delivering our services day to day carry a breadth of experience and perspective that strengthens the way we work with the communities we serve.
Residents don't experience our qualifications, they experience our outcomes
For residents, it isn't the letters after our names that matter. It's the outcomes we deliver, how we interact with them, how we respect their homes and whether they feel listened to and heard.
A reminder we took away from the Summit: we must never lose sight of who we're doing this for. Ultimately, it's about connecting with the person on the other side of the front door.
This sits at the heart of how we operate. Whether we're managing 75,000+ mixed tenure homes or supporting a single household, the measure that counts is the everyday experience of the people living there.
Technology helps with complexity, but it isn't the whole answer
Looking back across the two days, one theme ran throughout: the operational landscape is only getting more complex. Systems and technology are a great way to respond to that complexity, but they're not a substitute for good administration and appropriate management processes.
Strong results are still built on the fundamentals: clear processes, well-managed teams and consistent standards, whatever tools sit alongside them.
Stop trying to eat the elephant whole
Another phrase that stuck was a simple one: stop trying to eat the elephant whole. Rather than attempting to solve every challenge in the sector at once, take it step by step. Focus on meaningful, granular actions that lead to great outcomes.
Big ambitions are best delivered through small, well-executed actions that compound over time.
Where we go from here
The takeaway from the Housing Community Summit isn't that the challenges facing our sector are simple, they're not, and they're becoming more complex. But the fundamentals haven't changed: professional standards should open doors, technology should support good practice rather than replace it and every decision should be measured against the experience of the person on the other side of the front door.
Claire Kober on draining the procurement swamp
When you're up to your neck in alligators, it's hard to remember that the initial objective was to drain the swamp.
It might seem an odd way to begin, but this old idiom came to mind when absorbing the latest procurement reforms.
On 6 August, the Cabinet Office published a new Procurement Policy Note on the Social Value Model. The guidance significantly simplifies social value requirements for businesses competing for Whitehall contracts, placing greater emphasis on job creation, skills development and economic opportunity. It will apply to procurements commenced from 1st January next year.
The timing is particularly interesting because it follows closely behind the introduction of the Public Interest Test. Together, these developments point towards a common theme: greater clarity about what public procurement is actually trying to achieve.
For years, businesses bidding for public sector contracts have been asked to deliver an ever-expanding list of social outcomes. Good jobs. Skills. Net zero. Vibrant high streets. Health improvements. Community cohesion. Support for vulnerable groups.
These are all worthwhile objectives. But as the list has grown, so too has the machinery required to measure, evidence and report against it.
The Government's reforms suggest a different approach. By focusing more clearly on jobs, skills and economic opportunity, ministers are signalling a smaller number of priorities and a stronger emphasis on outcomes. That clarity should be welcomed.
One of the great strengths of the private sector is its ability to respond when government is clear about its objectives. Businesses are remarkably good at delivering results when expectations are defined, the rules of the game understood and success can be measured.
Whether it is housing delivery, apprenticeship creation or investment in local communities, organisations can mobilise quickly when they understand what is being asked of them.
The challenge comes when public policy tries to achieve everything at once.
Too often, procurement drifts towards a world where organisations spend increasing amounts of time evidencing social value rather than creating it. Tender submissions become longer. Reporting frameworks become more complex. Consultants and compliance teams multiply. Before long, organisations find themselves wrestling with alligators while losing sight of the swamp they were supposed to drain.
That is not a criticism of accountability. Public money should absolutely deliver public benefit. Taxpayers have every right to expect organisations winning public contracts to contribute positively to society.
But there is an important distinction between proving social value and creating it.
If suppliers are required to devote disproportionate amounts of time to reporting, evidence gathering and increasingly detailed compliance exercises, resources are inevitably diverted from frontline delivery. The danger is a system that becomes easier to game and harder to navigate, particularly for smaller suppliers with fewer administrative resources. Or, to borrow another well-known analogy, weighing the pig more often does not make it any fatter.
The real test of any social value framework is not how much activity it records, but whether it improves outcomes in the communities it is intended to serve. The Public Interest Test reflects a similar principle. The question is not just whether a process has been followed correctly, but whether public services are being delivered in the way that creates the greatest overall public value.
The Government's reforms present an opportunity to avoid that trap. A simpler framework focused on a smaller number of outcomes could actually strengthen social value rather than weaken it. Fewer common objectives creates greater scaling potential, as well as opportunities for collaboration across multiple suppliers and contracts.
The test for the new Social Value Model will not be whether it generates more reporting. It will be whether it creates more jobs, more opportunities and better outcomes for people. And if that happens, we may finally stop wrestling with alligators and obsessively weighing the pig, and get back to the business of draining the swamp.
Claire Kober
Managing Director - Homes, Pinnacle Group
This article was originally featured in Property Week, on 9th September 2026.
Pinnacle Group invests in growing BTR and PRS business with senior appointment
Pinnacle Group has appointed Emma Parsons as Head of Place by Pinnacle, strengthening its leadership team as the business continues to grow its build-to-rent and private rented sector offer.
Pinnacle Group has appointed Emma Parsons as Head of Place by Pinnacle, strengthening its leadership team as the business continues to grow its build-to-rent and private rented sector offer.
Emma brings more than 20 years' experience in the residential property sector, with expertise spanning lettings, property management, build-to-rent operations and business leadership. Throughout her career, she has held senior roles across the industry, leading multi-site lettings operations and national property services teams, with responsibility for people, performance, compliance and commercial delivery.
Emma joins Pinnacle from PropTech business Flatfair, where she spent five years working closely with BTR operators, investors and agency partners across the UK. During this time, she developed extensive insight into the evolving rental market and the ways technology and innovation can enhance resident experience and operational performance.
As Head of Place by Pinnacle, Emma will lead the continued growth of the business, further strengthening its position as a trusted management partner for investors, developers and asset owners across the BTR and PRS sectors.
"The BTR sector continues to evolve rapidly, with increasing expectations from residents, investors and clients alike. Place by Pinnacle has built a strong reputation for delivering exceptional service and creating communities where people want to live, and I'm excited to join the team at such an important stage in its growth.
I look forward to working with colleagues, clients and partners to build on that success and continuing to deliver quality services for residents and clients alike."
Emma Parsons
Head of Place by Pinnacle
"Emma brings a wealth of experience across residential property, operations and customer experience, alongside a thorough understanding of the build-to-rent market.
Her leadership, commercial expertise and passion for delivering great places will be invaluable as we continue to grow Place by Pinnacle and support our clients in creating thriving communities."
Claire Kober
Managing Director, Homes for Pinnacle Group
Place by Pinnacle manages homes and communities on behalf of institutional investors, developers and asset owners across the UK.
Pinnacle Group appointed to Government Commercial Agency’s Facilities Management Framework
Pinnacle Group has been appointed to the Government Commercial Agency's (GCA) Facilities Management and Security Services Framework, strengthening its position as a trusted partner delivering facilities management, housing and neighbourhood services across the UK public sector.
The framework provides public sector organisations with a compliant route to procure a broad range of facilities management services to vital community infrastructure nationwide. It is available to central government departments, local authorities, healthcare organisations, emergency services, educational institutions and other public bodies.
Pinnacle secured places on all lots tendered for across Total FM, Hard FM, Soft FM and security, achieving a score of 100 out of 100 on every quality question. The result enables the business to compete for a wide range of public sector opportunities throughout the life of the framework.
The framework, valued at up to £120 billion and scheduled to run until 2034, will support the delivery of facilities management services across some of the UK's most important public sector estates.
"As institutional investment continues to play a greater role in delivering affordable housing, effective management becomes increasingly important in ensuring residents receive the quality of service they expect and deserve.
At Pinnacle, we combine national scale with a local approach, creating well-managed homes and thriving communities. We look forward to working with M&G to support residents at Wildbridge."
Neil Fergus
Managing Director, Facilities Management at Pinnacle Group
The appointment builds on Pinnacle's extensive experience managing public sector estates and delivering integrated facilities management services across local government, healthcare, education, defence, housing and community infrastructure.
With a focus on operational excellence, customer experience, sustainability and social value, Pinnacle will support organisations to maintain safe, efficient and resilient environments while meeting evolving operational and regulatory requirements.
Pinnacle Group to manage 211 affordable homes in West Sussex following M&G acquisition
Pinnacle Group has been appointed to manage 211 affordable homes in West Sussex following M&G Real Estate's acquisition of the properties from Hyde Group through a £29 million investment by the M&G Affordable Living Fund.
The homes are located at the award-winning Wildbridge development in Yapton, near Chichester, and comprise a mix of two to four-bedroom houses and low-rise apartments across shared ownership and social rent tenures.
Pinnacle will provide housing management services for residents at Wildbridge, drawing on its experience of managing homes and communities across the UK.
The appointment further strengthens Pinnacle's growing partnership with M&G and its role in supporting institutional investment into the delivery and management of affordable housing.
The acquisition represents the M&G Affordable Living Fund's first investment in social rent homes, broadening the fund's ability to support a wider range of households while contributing to the supply of high-quality affordable housing.
"As institutional investment continues to play a greater role in delivering affordable housing, effective management becomes increasingly important in ensuring residents receive the quality of service they expect and deserve.
At Pinnacle, we combine national scale with a local approach, creating well-managed homes and thriving communities. We look forward to working with M&G to support residents at Wildbridge."
Claire Kober
Managing Director, Homes for Pinnacle Group
Pinnacle Group expands partnership with Principal Asset Management® through Queen’s Park BTR appointment
Pinnacle Group has been appointed by Principal Asset Management®, the global investment manager, to operate a new Build to Rent (BTR) development in Queen's Park, North West London. The appointment further strengthens Pinnacle's growing relationship with Principal® and reinforces its position as a specialist operator within the UK's expanding Build to Rent sector.
Principal has acquired 143 Build to Rent homes at the North West Quarter development in Queen’s Park, part of one of London's most significant regeneration programmes. Pinnacle Investments acted as asset manager on behalf of Principal, advising on the operations and providing ongoing strategic management of the investment. The relationship between Pinnacle Group, Pinnacle Investments and Principal was established earlier this year through a 66-home Build to Rent development within the Clapham Park regeneration scheme in South London.
The homes at Queen's Park will be launched in phases, with 48 apartments already completed, handed over and recently launched, while a further 95 homes are expected to complete in early 2027.
The scheme, branded The Compass Collection, comprises homes across three buildings and includes co-working space, communal gardens and parcel lockers. The Compass Collection forms part of a wider scheme, which will deliver 205 homes alongside commercial space, NHS facilities and affordable workspace. Located less than five minutes from Queen's Park station, residents will benefit from excellent connections across London.
Once operational, the homes will be managed by Place by Pinnacle, Pinnacle Group's specialist residential and Build to Rent platform, alongside Pinnacle Investments as asset manager. Residents will benefit from professionally managed homes, responsive customer service, digital resident services, repairs coordination, building safety oversight and a strong focus on community-building and resident wellbeing.
“This appointment builds on our growing relationship with Principal and reflects the increasing demand for professionally managed rental homes. Through Place by Pinnacle, we'll focus on creating an excellent resident experience, combining responsive service, strong community engagement and the high standards residents increasingly expect from Build to Rent living.”
Claire Kober
Managing Director, Homes for Pinnacle Group
"We're pleased to have supported Principal on another great acquisition and to be providing ongoing asset management services as the scheme moves through its lease-up and stabilisation phases. Queen's Park is a compelling rental location, and working alongside Place by Pinnacle, we're confident this investment will deliver strong outcomes for residents and for Principal, demonstrating what dedicated, investor-focused asset and property management can achieve in the Build to Rent sector.”
Chris Turnbull
Managing Director of Pinnacle Investments