UK real estate fund manager Moorfield Group has teamed up with residential property technology platform Bricklane to acquire £600m (€692m) worth of homes for rent.

The newly created partnership expects to buy around 2,000 one-to-four-bedroom houses and flats over the next 24 months with an initial focus on London, Bristol and the South East, the companies said in a joint statement.

Once units are acquired, the partnership will seek to grow income and capital values through active asset management and refurbishment, with the aim of delivering a professional, high-quality proposition for tenants.

Ross Netherway, the head of origination at Moorfield Group, said: “This partnership provides us with an efficient and scalable means to find, buy, and manage individual residential properties for rent in our target markets.

“We are excited to be partnering with Bricklane who have the best-in-class capabilities—both human and technological—to help us deliver on our shared ambition. This partnership will help further diversify our activities in our beds theme and see us drive the professionalisation of a vast but fragmented market.”

Simon Heawood, CEO and co-founder of Bricklane, said: “The time is ripe for institutional capital to access and professionalise the mainstream private rented sector.

“Demand is at an all-time high, while it is becoming less financially attractive for individual landlords to operate in the sector. Moreover, tenants are rightly demanding higher quality service and more secure contracts for their homes.”

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