TPG Real Estate Partners (TREP) and Gatehouse Bank announced on Thursday that they have launched Start Living, a new BTR brand and platform focused on the single-family sector in the UK.
The launch of the Start Living brand follows the formation of the joint venture in August 2021. The initial target for the platform is in excess of 2,500 homes with a gross development value of over £500 mln (€596 mln). The partners said that Start Living has the capability to significantly exceed this target, provided suitable locations can be sourced that match its criteria.
Start Living will offer two, three and four-bedroom homes in areas that provide a high level of family amenities such as schools and leisure facilities. They will typically form part of new housing schemes developed by third-party housebuilders and will be indistinguishable from those available for private sale. The majority of BTR development in the UK to date has been apartment buildings in city centre locations targeting young professionals, while supply of single-family rental homes has been limited in the private rented sector.
The first homes have been made available this week at Lakeside North in Scunthorpe, with three further sites acquired in the West Midlands and Nottinghamshire. Countryside and Vistry are developing the first four locations, with further sites proceeding to completion. Additional housebuilder partnerships are being created and sought for the platform.
Paul Stockwell, Chief Commercial Officer at Gatehouse Bank, said: 'The launch of Start Living and delivery of its first homes is a hugely exciting moment for our joint venture with TPG Real Estate, which is an experienced institutional partner in this sector. Our ambitions for the platform demonstrate the scale of the opportunity – there is significant demand for high-quality, professionally managed rental homes, and in helping to meet this need Start Living will become a leading single-family BTR platform, providing the amenities and flexibility demanded by modern family life.'
James Piper, partner at TPG Real Estate, added: 'We are delighted to be bringing our first Start Living units to market with Gatehouse, who continue to prove themselves as a leading operator in the UK’s build-to-rent market. With our strong track record developing and owning high-quality private rental assets in North America, we are focused on building scale and excellence within the Start Living platform and acting as a valued partner to both homebuilders and the families that will call these properties home.'
Start Living is the third, and most ambitious, single-family BTR platform undertaken by Gatehouse Bank. The Thistle Fund was built from 2014 and was the first single-family PRS deal of scale to transact in the UK when the 900-unit portfolio was sold 2021. A second PRS platform was established in 2015, with the Kuwait Investment Authority as cornerstone investor.
TREP has a long-standing history in the acquisition of residential assets globally with a track record spanning over 140,000 housing units,.
Paul Stockwell added: 'The vast majority of BTR homes that have been developed to date are ideal for young professionals, but less suitable for families – and this is the opportunity. Gatehouse Bank’s pioneering work and track record in the UK single-family sector, allied to the understanding TREP brings from its successful US holdings, will establish Start Living as the go-to name for families seeking to rent.'
