Goldman Sachs has backed its first build-to-rent project in the UK, bankrolling a £184m skyscraper that is expected to be the largest residential tower in Birmingham.

The investment banking giant has agreed to extend a 4.5 year, £118m debt facility to fund construction of Moda Living and Apache Capital’s 42-storey Broad Street Tower.

Goldman has previously backed private rental schemes in the US and Europe but this deal marks its first foray into the nascent UK market, which has attracted a stampede of interest from institutional investors in recent years.

The scheme will include 481 apartments, retail and office space, as well as a 200-metre rooftop running track and app-controlled lifts.

Moda’s Johnny Caddick said it wanted to “move the bar” on rental housing: “We want to demonstrate that renting doesn’t have to be a necessity, but a lifestyle choice too.”

London-based investment firm Apache and Harrogate’s Moda control one of the UK’s largest pipelines of build-to-rent schemes with 6,500 units in nine cities.