Royal Bank of Scotland said it has committed £1 billion of capital to build up its involvement in the purpose-built private rented sector (PRS) housing industry as the UK government pledges to build one million new homes by 2020.

RBS recently announced a newly created role of Head of Private Rented Sector.

As Head of PRS, Chiara Zuccon (pictured) will lead the bank’s UK-wide team working with institutional customers looking to develop large scale purpose-built private rental schemes.

RBS said that amid a growing appetite from institutional investors looking to establish PRS as a viable asset class, the bank has seen an increased demand from developers and operators looking to build and manage purpose-built rental schemes in the UK, similar to business models found in the US and Europe.

Phil Hooper, RBS Head of Residential Development, said: “Building new homes, purpose built for rent, is an important step in increasing and diversifying the UK’s housing supply.

“We are already providing financing support to a number of leading developers and look forward to working with other sponsors across the country.

“RBS is fully committed to supporting the UK’s housing provision and the £1 billion we are committing to PRS is in addition to the £2 billion per annum we provide to support the development of homes for sale.”

RBS and the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) provided the development finance to Essential Living to create three dedicated rental developments in Maidenhead, Archway and Bethnal Green, creating 300 homes, with the first properties available for rent in mid 2016.

Scott Hammond, managing director of Essential Living, said: “RBS was one of the first major funders to recognise the strategic advantages of developing a dedicated, purpose-built rental market and Chiara’s appointment is a further demonstration of their long term commitment to the PRS market.”