Residential real estate investment and management platform Gatehouse Living Group has sold its UK single-family rental (SFR) platform to Citra Living, a division of Lloyds Banking Group.
This marks the group’s second successful exit from a stabilized PRS portfolio, following the sale of the Thistle Portfolio in 2021.
As part of the transaction, Ascend, the UK's largest third-party SFR operator, will continue to manage the properties and leases.
The portfolio, launched in 2018 in partnership with a sovereign wealth fund, consists of 821 two-, three-, and four-bedroom homes across ten sites in the West Midlands, Merseyside, and Greater Manchester.
With a current occupancy rate of 99%, residents of these homes enjoy convenient access to local amenities and benefit from energy-efficient properties, many with an EPC rating of B.
Paul Stockwell, Group managing director of Gatehouse Living Group, said: ‘The performance of this portfolio is testament to our vertically-integrated approach – incorporating investment, asset and property management expertise – which has to date delivered over 4,000 homes across a number of portfolios. Over the past decade we have seen SFR become an increasingly important pillar of the UK’s housing mix, enabling the development of greater numbers of homes nationwide.’
Andy Hutchinson, CEO, Citra Living, added: ‘While our focus remains firmly on increasing the number of rental and shared ownership homes available, the secondary market for such homes is important and developing. By taking an active role in this, we can ensure that these homes don’t just remain in the private rental sector, where they are very needed, but give their residents an ongoing landlord they know and can trust to deliver the service they need.’
With the acquisition of the SFR homes from Gatehouse Living Group, Citra Living has surpassed the 5,000-home mark in its rental and shared ownership portfolio. Additionally, Citra Living has now rebranded as Lloyds Living.
Gatehouse Living Group comprises of Gatehouse Investment Management and Ascend. Gatehouse IM has developed four institutional SFR platforms, and Ascend manages a portfolio of over 10,000 rental homes across the UK.
