Greykite Investment Adviser’s European property fund has partnered with Gatehouse Investment Management to acquire an initial seed portfolio of 11 sites for a newly created £750m (€894m) UK purpose-built single-family rental (SFR) homes investment venture.
The Greykite European Real Estate Fund I and Gatehouse UK SFR venture has invested an unspecified amount to buy the 11 sites, in the Midlands, Yorkshire and the North East, from housebuilder Persimmon Homes.
The joint venture has also secured exclusivity on several sites and aims to secure over £200m in purchase commitments by the end of 2024.
This will enable the partnership to build a portfolio of 2,500 newly-built SFR rental homes through partnerships with housebuilders like Persimmon, the partners said.
The venture’s minority partner Gatehouse will asset manage the portfolio, with UK SFR housing manager Ascend overseeing property management.
Michael Abel, founder and CEO of Greykite, said: “The UK SFR sector benefits from a number of compelling demand fundamentals, and continues to be characterised by a chronic undersupply of purpose-built stock. In particular, we have identified several UK cities with attractive rental growth prospects, as a result of their supportive demographics, forecast GDP growth and good affordability metrics.
“Consistent with Greykite’s strategy of investing in a series of scalable high-conviction investment themes, we look forward to partnering with Gatehouse Investment Management to build a differentiated real estate business in the UK residential space.”
Dan Valenzano, senior partner of Greykite, added: “Greykite is excited to announce this JV with Gatehouse Investment Management together with the initial acquisition from Persimmon. With its strong operational and sustainability characteristics, the UK SFR sector presents one of the most attractive and sizeable near term investment opportunities.
“With housebuilders increasingly embracing partnerships with build-to-rent investors, we look forward to amassing a distinctive portfolio of high quality homes across the UK.”
Paul Stockwell, group MD of Gatehouse Investment Management, said: “This launch comes at an exciting time in the SFR sector as it becomes an increasingly vital pillar of the UK’s housing mix. Greykite’s approach will complement our platform’s capabilities as we seek to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the asset class.
“With the first homes already acquired from Persimmon – a housebuilder we have worked with previously that understands the requirements of SFR – the new portfolio is on track to scale swiftly, leveraging the team’s sector understanding and delivery partner relationships to secure the best sites nationwide.”
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