Moorfield launches REIT with £500m target
UK real estate investment manager Moorfield Group has launched a REIT focused on opportunities in the for-rent market.
MREIT, which will initially target new and existing single-family homes and houses of multiple occupation, has raised £100m of capital to date. It is targeting more than £500m of investment capacity. The REIT is aimed at institutional investors such as pension funds and insurers rather than retail investors.
Its current portfolio comprises £50m of investments made so far by Moorfield’s fifth value-add fund, Moorfield Real Estate Fund, which is split 50:50 between single-family homes and student HMOs.
UK real estate investment manager Moorfield Group has launched a REIT focused on opportunities in the for-rent market.
MREIT, which will initially target new and existing single-family homes and houses of multiple occupation, has raised £100m of capital to date. It is targeting more than £500m of investment capacity. The REIT is aimed at institutional investors such as pension funds and insurers rather than retail investors.
Its current portfolio comprises £50m of investments made so far by Moorfield’s fifth value-add fund, Moorfield Real Estate Fund, which is split 50:50 between single-family homes and student HMOs.
Moorfield has been active in both these sectors since 2020. It also manages £100m of similar assets through the manager’s fourth value-add fund, MREFIV.
Charles Ferguson Davie, chief investment officer at Moorfield Group, said: “We believe MREIT’s acquisition strategy will offer an attractive exit option for buy-to-let investors looking to sell, as well as housebuilders that are increasingly considering bulk sales in the face of a weakening ‘for-sale’ market.
“We are targeting locations with strong underlying demand, identified for our core demographics – long-term renters and domestic students – but where new supply is limited to ensure that MREIT benefits from sustainable rental growth.
“The success of US single-family REITs demonstrate a way forward for institutional investment into UK residential-for-rent and we are confident that MREIT will help unlock this asset class, which has been difficult for institutions to access due to the granularity and fragmented ownership of existing stock.”
Moorfield chief executive Marc Gilbard said: “Through MREIT, we are pleased to offer institutional investors another route to access a necessity-driven asset class with sustainable rental growth that has typically tracked inflation.
“UK residential has been one of our longest – and strongest – conviction themes, with demographic tailwinds and a stark demand-supply imbalance continuing to underpin values and support resilient rental growth over the long-term.”
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