QuadReal to buy Realstar BTR portfolio
Canada’s QuadReal Property Group to poised to buy Realstar’s £570m portfolio of build-to-rent flats and student housing.
The investor has been selected as the preferred buyer for the 1,335 homes across eight sites following a competitive bidding process over the past two months, run by Eastdil Secured.
The sale of income-producing assets is a major milestone for the burgeoning rental sector, as the first portfolio of purpose-built operational stock in the capital.
Canada’s QuadReal Property Group to poised to buy Realstar’s £570m portfolio of build-to-rent flats and student housing.
The investor has been selected as the preferred buyer for the 1,335 homes across eight sites following a competitive bidding process over the past two months, run by Eastdil Secured.
The sale of income-producing assets is a major milestone for the burgeoning rental sector, as the first portfolio of purpose-built operational stock in the capital.
QuadReal’s has agreed to buy the sites at the asking price of £570m, equating to an overall yield of around 3.6%. Realstar will continue to manage the assets.
It follows QuadReal and Realstar’s £100m acquisition of Kennedy Wilson’s Pioneer Point earlier this year, with other projects in Southall, Wembley and Colindale.
QuadReal has been ramping its resi investments after teaming up with Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield to deliver a £670m BTR scheme in Stratford in 2019.
The investor has since formed a €1.3bn joint venture with Hines, targeting BTR, student and serviced apartments in Europe and non-core UK markets outside of London.
The Realstar portfolio boosts its London exposure with six build-to-rent schemes from the Uncle platform, valued with a yield of 3.25-3.5%. Two student housing schemes have a higher estimated yield of around 4%.
It includes Realstar’s first BTR scheme in the UK, the 45-storey Highpoint building (pictured) comprising 279 flats in Elephant & Castle, which was agreed in 2014 and completed in 2018.
The other BTR assets are Uncle’s properties in Stockwell (226 flats), two buildings in New Cross (101 and 54 flats), Manchester (171 flats) and Hackney Wick (105 flats). There are two student buildings at Ravenscourt House in Hammersmith (235 beds) and Canto Court in Shoreditch (164 beds).
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Photo © Realstar
