Real estate equity investment platform TPG Real Estate Partners (TREP) and UK bank and property investment firm Gatehouse Bank have launched a new joint venture to deliver new-build single family homes for private rental across the UK.

housing venture

Housing Venture

The initiative launches with an initial portfolio of four sites and the capacity to build an investment portfolio with a total value in excess of £500 mln (€590 mln).

The first four sites are to be acquired via partnership with homebuilder Countryside Properties, which will develop the sites for the venture. The launch properties comprise 321 single family homes totalling more than 270,000 ft2 (25,000 m2), located in established residential communities in the Midlands, Greater Manchester and Merseyside regions of the UK. The arrangement intends to deliver additional projects in the Midlands and North in the near future.

Further partnerships with other homebuilders are also planned, targeting the total build of more than 2,500 single family homes across the UK. This is Gatehouse’s third such venture in the UK’s private rented sector and is set to be its largest.

James Piper, partner at TREP, commented: 'We are pleased to be partnering in this joint venture with Gatehouse, a skilled operator in the UK’s build-to-rent market.

'TREP has a strong track record of developing and owning high-quality private rental assets in North America and we are excited to leverage this expertise to achieve similar success in the UK, where there is strong and growing demand for new-build rental homes.

'We aim to be a valued partner not only to homebuilders but also the communities and families that will call these properties home.'

Paul Stockwell, chief commercial officer and head of real estate at Gatehouse, commented: 'We are delighted to have found an experienced, institutional partner in TREP as we enter the next era of our investment in the private rental sector.

'Through the partnership announced today, this joint venture has the necessary capital to build and develop the next generation of build-to-rent housing. We are committed to building a portfolio of high quality – yet economical – housing, which will be attractive to local residents and benefit from strong demand.'