KKR has acquired a £100m (€116m) portfolio of three UK build-to-rent (BTR) properties from Legal & General (L&G).
The global investment firm said the acquisition of The Slate Yard in Manchester was made through Inhabeo, KKR real estate’s European living-sector platform.
The portfolio consists of 424 residential units across three properties, totalling 270,000sqft houses.
The latest deal adds to KKR’s existing portfolio that includes the No 1 St Michael’s development, and prior investments in logistics and hospitality in Manchester. It also expands KKR’s portfolio of residential real estate in the UK and Europe, which has assets in London, Birmingham and Brighton & Hove in the UK, and in Germany, Finland and Denmark.
Mark Ekinde, principal in KKR’s European real estate team, said: “Through the acquisition of The Slate Yard, we are pleased to further our presence in Manchester and continue to grow our UK residential portfolio. Catering to one of the UK’s largest and fastest-growing cities, these properties are well placed to meet the growing demand for high-quality, yet affordable, residential real estate.
“Acquiring strategically located, high-quality residential assets in major urban centres continues to be one of our main investment themes in Europe, driven by positive market trends and compelling structural dynamics.”
Dan Batterton, head of residential at L&G, said: “We know there’s a critical shortage of housing supply, coupled with increasing demand for high-quality rental homes in the UK. With our recently announced partnerships aimed at creating thousands of new homes across the country, this sale will allow us to continue to reinvest in the BTR sector, delivering much-needed new homes.”
Ross Netherway, CEO of Inhabeo, said: “This acquisition marks an important milestone in the continued growth of our European living-sector investments with KKR, which now exceed £500m. We look forward to building on this momentum to expand further into high-quality BTR and purpose-built student accommodation assets across select European geographies.”
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