The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) is investing a further £100m (€92.1m) in the UK private-rented sector (PRS) via Thriving Investments.
Thriving Investments, the fund manager formerly known as PfP Capital, said the capital commitment from the £76bn UK pension scheme will enable its Picture Living platform to grow its portfolio to over 2,000 homes by the end of 2024.
Since its launch in 2018, Picture Living has built a portfolio of approximately 1,800 single-family and multifamily homes across the UK, with roughly 180 additional units currently under development.
USS first invested in the UK PRS venture in 2018, providing “the core funding” for the platform.
Alex Turner, head of property at USS, said: “We continue to increase our exposure to asset types which provide resilient and stable cash flows that align with the long-term pension promises we make to our members, plus benefit from strong macro tailwinds in the sector.
“Picture Living complements our other investments in the living sector including purpose-built student accommodation, equity release, shared ownership and residential development lending.”
Jamie Younger, fund manager for Picture Living, said the commitment extends the firm’s partnership with one of the UK’s largest pension schemes and “reinforces our strategy to date as a differentiated fund manager with a social conscience”, delivering much-needed single-and-multi-family home-led communities across the UK.
Younger added: “Solving the UK’s rental crisis has become an issue of national importance and one where it has become increasingly apparent that the solution to delivering homes at the scale and pace required lies with institutional capital and fund managers.
“Our focus now is to deploy the capital into new opportunities, leveraging our strong housebuilder relationships to grow the portfolio to over 2,000 homes.”
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