Welcome to your weekly round-up of residential stories from EG.
Two investors committed £1.5bn to build-to-rent this week, striking new partnerships with specialist platforms.
Private equity giant KKR has made its first build-to-rent investment in the UK, striking a £1bn platform deal with Moda Living.
The private equity giant is backing Moda’s new Select strategy, which aims to deliver 5,000 rental homes in suburban and city fringe locations over the next three to five years.
The platform’s first scheme will be the 392-home New Garden Square scheme in Edgbaston, Birmingham (pictured), in partnership with local developer Court Collaboration and landowner Calthorpe Estates. The pair will then grow the platform, with Moda bringing on sites in Leeds, Liverpool, London, Cardiff and Manchester, which would be forward-funded and owned by KKR.
The investment follows recent platform deals with Ares Capital Management agreeing to similar £1bn arrangement, Moda’s upcoming co-living strategy and developments with Osborne & Co and Apache Capital.
Oscar Brooks, director at Moda Living, said: “It has always been our long-term vision to be able to have different types of product for different types of lifestyle at different price points. A lot of that is starting to come to fruition. This particular platform allows a wider geographical coverage and a wider demographic.”
In a second partnership, BlackRock and asset manager Outpost Management have sealed a £500m joint venture to invest in UK BTR, scooping up LabTech’s 101 Camley Street as a first scheme.
Outpost will manage the property on behalf of BlackRock under its new residential platform. The asset manager was established at the end of 2019 by former Greystar director Troy Tomasik.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Greystar is also making waves, with a $3.6bn (£2.6bn) sale of 30 buildings comprising 10,000 homes to Ivanhoe Cambridge. The sale of the flagship US multi-family value-add fund to a long-term partner shows the potential direction of travel for the UK.
This week, levelling up secretary Michael Gove reiterated calls for reform of PRS, planning and renting. Answering questions from the housing committee in parliament on 8 November, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities spoke about “cowboy” developers and called for justice and responsibility in the cladding scandal. He promised a flurry of white papers and new legislation before Christmas.
Speaking on rental investment, Gove said: “One of the things that I want to do is to make sure that we take the right approach towards the private rented sector.” He said the department has been discussing “what we can do in order to better regulate the private rented sector, while at the same time obviously not disincentivising people from providing decent homes at a fair rent to those who need them”.
View the magazine, download the app (iOS and Android) and read on for more of the week’s headlines:
Majority of housebuilders say supply issues hit bottom line
Administrators reveal The Collective rescue plan
Cordia Blackswan confirms Birmingham Digbeth scheme
Cheyne fires up Third.i buy with £100m investment
Home REIT expands with £63m spree
Catella APAM takes on 500-bed student portfolio
OUD launches design competition for £1bn innovation district
Haringey shoots down Spurs’ Goodsyard plans
Native Land submits plans for Guildford Debenhams development
Onex takes stake in Hinduja’s Old War Office
Persimmon sees return to pre-pandemic form
Vistry heading for £345m profit
Inland Homes sells final phase of Pilkington Poole project
Watkin Jones confirms new finance chief
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