We’re pleased to announce our new collaboration with PGIM Real Estate. After recently launching their UK Affordable Housing Fund, they have acquired their first portfolio of single-family BTR homes from Wise Living.
Located in seven cities and towns across the Midlands and the North of England, the portfolio comprises of five stabilised assets and three development sites covering 314,000 sq ft. These sites will deliver a total of 433 units comprising predominantly of two and three-bed homes. After acquiring the portfolio directly from us, we will continue to work closely with PGIM going forward in order to source new opportunities together. Our dedicated, in-house team will also continue to manage the stabilised properties and the developments once they are complete.
Unveiled in February, PGIM Real Estate’s UK Affordable Housing Fund invests in and develops single-family homes with a focus on rents that are affordable for working people and families across the UK. It raised £190 million of initial capital from the Northern LGPS and Brunel Pension Partnership. The Fund is managed by an experienced team of investment professionals including senior portfolio manager, Paul Dennis-Jones and head of UK transactions, Charles Crowe.
Charles Crowe comments: “We are delighted to make our first investment for the strategy and to work with the experienced team at Wise Living. At PGIM Real Estate, we have a strong track record in affordable housing, making our first investment in the UK back in 2016. Our recently launched strategy aims to alleviate the major supply/demand imbalance within UK affordable housing, benefitting working people and families, as well as income-focused investors. Despite recent economic uncertainty as a result of Covid-19, suburban areas and smaller towns with a greater emphasis on housing over apartments are reporting much stronger rental growth than city centre markets.”
Outside Central London, residential rental growth across the UK has remained robust over the past year, despite the sharp drop in household income growth as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. With residential rents likely to track the rebound in household income growth in the years ahead, the UK residential property market is poised to deliver solid long-term income-driven returns for investors.
Andy Deller, chief executive officer at Wise Living comments: “This is a significant transaction and marks the beginning of our new collaboration with PGIM Real Estate. We will be working together to secure further sites for it to invest in over the coming months and years. It’s an exciting project that will be a key part of our ongoing strategy to deliver rental homes to undersupplied suburban areas in the UK. The partnership is underpinned by the fact that we share the same values and view of the private-rental-sector and will enable both businesses to push forward with plans to help meet the growing demand from UK families for quality rental homes.”
The way we structure and fund deals mean we can forward fund the development right from the off, which can have a real positive impact on appraisals, costs, and much more – giving our partners a secure exit for all or part of sites. You need to choose the right partner to make suburban BTR work, so let’s chat!
