Greykite makes further inroads into SFR portfolio

A £750m joint venture between the real estate fund and Gatehouse Living Group will now be known as ‘Uniqhomes’, recently acquiring more than 400 properties from across Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Shropshire.

Of the newly-acquired single-family rental homes, 250 were purchased from Keepmoat from across six sites in Yorkshire, and 150 came from three of Barrett Redrow’s Lancashire and Shropshire estates.

This takes the JV’s total of SFR homes to more than 1,000 across 26 sites since its launch last November.

The recent acquisitions tie in neatly with the launch of Greykite’s SFR brand in the UK, Uniqhomes, which will be used by the JV to promote its portfolio of properties.

So far, Uniqhomes has taken possession of more than 200 of the 1,000 homes in the portfolio, and will have acquired another 700 by the end of the year.

Financing has been secured from NatWest for the entire 26-sites, and an asset holding structure has been converted into a non-traded UK REIT, to be chaired by Greykite senior partner Dan Valenzano.

The recent purchases were made off-market, and in keeping with the wider ethos of the Uniqhomes brand, all homes are located on established housing sites, with good transport links into nearby cities and local amenities, and an EPC rating of ‘B’ or higher.

All of the properties will be managed by Ascend.

Michael Abel, founder and chief executive of Greykite said: “The launch of Uniqhomes and the continued growth of our UK SFR strategy is a further example of Greykite’s ability to build and scale platforms in our high conviction sectors.

“We look forward to developing the Uniqhomes brand as we continue to build a differentiated SFR platform, and we remain very pleased with the significant recent institutional investment activity across the sector.”

Dan Valenzano, senior partner of Greykite, added: “I am excited to be chairing this important platform for Greykite.

“Conversion to a non-traded UK REIT is an appropriate holding structure for Uniqhomes, supporting its ability to make income distributions and continue to scale through acquisitions.

“Building on our strong progress to date, we look forward to bringing these sites forward with our new delivery partners at Keepmoat and Barratt, and with the ongoing support and financing of NatWest.”

Paul Stockwell, group managing director of Gatehouse Living Group, said: “These latest acquisitions – strategically located and meeting key sustainability criteria – are perfectly aligned with the platform’s investment approach, and represent significant additions to the portfolio.

“The speed with which we have been able to deploy capital – acquiring over 1,000 properties for the Greykite strategy in just seven months – and deliver homes highlights the capabilities across the entire team and demonstrates our level of ambition in the SFR sector.”