A waterfront conversion in central Doncaster, on the doorstep of one of the UK's largest rail engineering depots and the country's busiest inland logistics port. Run as serviced accommodation through our on-panel operator for the 11% NET headline, or as a standard AST for ~6% gross. Both are honest numbers on the same flat.
Most "high yield" property pitches you'll read in this category are paper yields. They rely on assumptions someone hasn't tested, in markets that don't quite exist, with operators who haven't quite scaled. That's why they're available at the prices they are.
This one's different. The 11% NET requires the unit to be run as serviced accommodation, marketed primarily to corporate guests on weekday rotations. That's a real operating model with real demand on the doorstep — Mallard House (~600 rail engineers), iPort logistics, NCATI training. The work is what produces the yield. Which means the work is also what protects it.
The operating layer isn't something we ask you to go and source. It's part of what we bring to this deal: a specialist serviced-accommodation operator already on our panel, set up to run the building. Run the same flat as a standard AST instead and the gross is ~6%. Both are honest numbers — we'd rather show you both than imply one is the other.
Higher yields need a structural reason. Doncaster's reason is the demand profile within walking distance: rail engineers on rotation, contractor stays, project teams. A different rental market from holiday-let stock — and a more durable one.
01.
Network Rail's £14m Maintenance Delivery Unit, opened 2020. Roughly 600 engineering and operational staff on rotational shifts. iPort hosts Amazon, CEVA and DB Cargo. NCATI trains the rail infrastructure workforce. Contractor stays, project teams, weekday rotations — a demand profile that runs Monday-to-Friday rather than school holidays.
02.
Most leasehold flats can't legally be let nightly. This one can. That single clause is what unlocks the corporate weekday strategy. Without it, the deal collapses to a 6% AST and you've bought the wrong building.
03.
Most Doncaster investment stock is suburban terraced housing. Riverside conversions in walking distance of the station are a thin market. That thinness protects rental rates and the resale position.
04.
There aren't many other postcodes where a £160,000 1-bed sits on a 90-minute London commute. That gives the price floor a structural defence even before the rental case — which is what makes the AST fallback at 6% an acceptable downside, not a problem.
An indicative 1-bed at £160,000, 75% LTV mortgage at an illustrative 4.5% rate. Short-term let assumes 75% occupancy at corporate nightly rates.
The 11% is real. The work behind it is too. We'd rather you know both before you sign.
01.
11% NET assumes the unit is run as serviced accommodation at 75% occupancy, on the on-panel operator's structure. Run it AST instead and the gross is ~6%. Both are reasonable outcomes — they're not the same number, and they require different commitments. Decide which one you're underwriting before you sign.
02.
Completion sits in the future, not on day one — which is the mechanism that makes off-plan pricing work in your favour. The development is fully funded and the developer has form, both of which matter.
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Contact →Property values can fall as well as rise. Past performance and projected returns are not reliable indicators of future results. Rental yields and occupancy levels are projections based on current market conditions and are not guaranteed. The 11% NET headline assumes operation as serviced accommodation at 75% occupancy at expected nightly rates and is sensitive to demand, season, and operating quality. AST yields are gross. Mortgage availability, rates and stamp duty are subject to change and depend on individual circumstances. All figures are illustrative and gross of income tax. Magna Partners Ltd is a property introducer and not a regulated financial adviser. You should take independent legal, tax and financial advice before committing to any investment.
