Greystar Launches Multifamily Fund Series to Develop Rental Housing in United Kingdom
Inaugural Fund in Flagship Series to Target £750 Million for Investments Focused on
Greater London
LONDON – 27 May 2019 – Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC (“Greystar”), a global leader in the investment, development and management of high-quality rental housing properties, today announced the launch of a new flagship fund series to develop purpose-built rental housing properties in the United Kingdom.
Greystar U.K. Multifamily Fund I (“GSUM I”), which will be managed by affiliates of Greystar, will target £750 million in capital commitments from institutional investors and will leverage Greystar’s vertically integrated platform to establish a best-in-class portfolio focused on London.
“There’s a significant need for professionally developed rental housing in the U.K. as the current stock is under-supplied, outdated and poorly managed,” said Bob Faith, Founder and CEO of Greystar. “The creation of this vehicle enables us to apply our market knowledge as well as our operational and development expertise to create an institutional-quality housing portfolio that appeals to a diverse base of renters.”
Through its development-led strategy, the vehicle will seek to capitalize on the significant supply-demand imbalance in major markets driven by secular declines in new housing deliveries and shifting preferences towards rental housing. The vehicle will focus on efficient design, asset quality, and superior amenities and services to deliver a highly differentiated product that is largely absent in the U.K. With more than 3,500 units currently under development and nearly £5 billion assets under management in the U.K., Greystar is well-positioned to develop and operate a best-in-class portfolio.
Greystar has a track record of success investing throughout the U.K., having closed more than £5.5 billion in transactions since entering the market in 2013. Notably, the company has acquired more than 30,000 student units and launched three portfolio brands. Moreover, Greystar is one of the largest investors in modular construction in the U.K., having invested in projects totaling approximately £500 million. The company boasts a deep bench of talent, with a vertically integrated London-based team of 130 employees experienced in investments, development, and property operations.
“Launching this vehicle represents an important milestone in further expanding our operations in the U.K.,” said Mark Allnutt, Greystar’s Senior Managing Director of Investment Management, U.K. “We have established a strong track record of putting capital to work in U.K. rental housing and are currently evaluating a robust pipeline of investment opportunities as we work to further institutionalize the sector.”
GSUM I is planned to be the first in a flagship series of UK rental housing funds that will capitalize on Greystar’s established U.K. platform and deep local market knowledge to source, underwrite and execute on rental housing investments to drive superior risk-adjusted returns.
About Greystar
Greystar is a leading, fully integrated real estate company offering expertise in investment management, development, and management of rental housing properties globally. Headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, Greystar manages and operates an estimated $115 billion of real estate in over 180 markets globally including offices throughout the United States, UK, Continental Europe, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region. Greystar is the largest operator of apartments in the United States, managing approximately 500,000 units/beds, and has a robust institutional investment management platform with over $33 billion of assets under management including $12 billion of assets under development. Greystar was founded by Bob Faith in 1993 with the intent to become a provider of world-class service in the rental residential real estate business. To learn more, visit www.greystar.com.
US Media Contact:
Megan Kivlehan
ICR on behalf of Greystar
UK Media Contact:
Finsbury (PR adviser) : Tel: +44 (0) 20 7251 3801
Gordon Simpson: gordon.simpson@finsbury.com
James Thompson: james.thompson@finsbury.com
Andrew Pantaleo: andrew.pantaleo@finsbury.com