The investment arm of US property group CBRE has bought 222 suburban build-to-rent (BTR) homes from a house builder.
Fallow Wood View in Burgess Hill, a Bellway development bought by CBRE (picture: CBRE IM)
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The investment arm of US property group CBRE has bought 222 suburban build-to-rent homes from a house builder #UKhousingCBRE Investment Management (CBRE IM) acquired the 222-home single-family housing portfolio in the South East of England from house builder Bellway.
The portfolio comprises a mix of completed homes and forward-funded development across three sites: Forster Park in Stevenage; Whitehouse Gardens in Milton Keynes; and Fallow Wood View in Burgess Hill, West Sussex. All homes are expected to be completed by the end of 2027.
The developments will deliver predominantly two and three-bedroom homes, CBRE IM said. The homes within the portfolio will be operated by BTR landlord Moda Living.
It is the first deal for CBRE IM’s Single Family Housing Partners fund, launched with Moda Living in May.
CBRE IM backed the fund with an initial £400m which is expected to deliver 1,500 homes, and hopes to grow the fund to a £2bn portfolio of around 7,500 homes by 2033.
Tom James, head of UK transactions at CBRE IM, said: “This is an exciting addition to our residential platform and a great first step in growing our single-family housing fund, delivering high-quality houses on attractive sites in locations where demand for best-in-class, professionally managed rental housing continues to outstrip supply.
“Working alongside Moda Living, we are building a platform designed to deliver at scale, both in terms of operational execution and investor outcomes, focused on homes that meet the evolving needs of renters and generate sustainable income over time.”
Johnny Caddick, chief executive of Moda Living, said: “Demand for professionally managed rental homes continues to outstrip supply and, with the backing of committed, long-term capital and Moda’s integrated development and operational platform, we’re well placed to help address that challenge.
“We’re looking forward to building on this strong start as we continue to grow the platform by utilising Moda’s delivery and operational capabilities – together with the wider Caddick Group land pipeline – to deliver more high-quality homes across the UK.”
Ian Gorst, regional chair at Bellway Homes, said CBRE IM and Moda’s acquisition “demonstrates confidence in the strength of these outstanding new communities”.
He said: “We are proud they have chosen Bellway as their delivery partner, recognising our proven HBF [Home Builders Federation] ‘five-star home builder’ track record for quality and customer satisfaction.
“[We] look forward to building on our relationship in the years ahead.”
TT&G Partners and CBRE advised CBRE IM, and Savills advised Bellway.
Last week, Lloyds Bank grew its suburban BTR portfolio by nearly 1,000 homes following a deal to acquire homes from house builder Barratt Redrow across 14 developments.
There are now 26,407 operational single-family BTR homes across the UK, accounting for 16% of the country’s total BTR stock, according to Knight Frank. This is up from less than 5% in 2016.
Single-family BTR refers to low-rise suburban houses for rent, as opposed to urban flatted ‘multifamily’ developments.
A further 12,378 single-family homes are under construction, rising to 18,588 under construction or with full planning permission. A quarter of the total BTR homes under construction are single-family developments.
