Goldman Sachs Sells Bundle of Affordable UK Homes to PGIM – Regina Leader Post

(Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has sold a portfolio of rental homes in the north of England to PGIM Real Estate, a rare large institutional deal in a market that’s dominated by mom and pop investors.

The portfolio includes 918 single family homes in 15 developments around Manchester and Liverpool, according to an emailed statement Thursday. Goldman Sachs Asset Management was seeking about £190 million ($226 million) for the portfolio, which it acquired for about £150 million in 2020, React News reported in October.

Representatives for Goldman and PGIM declined to comment on the purchase price.

The UK’s single family housing market has traditionally been dominated by individual investors but the sector has begun to draw the attention of institutional capital betting on steady income thanks to the country’s severely constrained housing market. Affordable housing is in particularly short supply as local councils have been selling off stock for years without replacing it in full.

“Despite challenging market conditions, our conviction in UK single-family rental remains strong, as the sector continues to provide a mutually beneficial opportunity to deliver safe, high-quality homes for families, whilst providing sustainable income for our investors,” PGIM Real Estate head of UK investments Charles Crowe said in the statement.

The acquisition is on behalf of PGIM’s UK affordable housing strategy that focuses on private rental housing at affordable rents for working families and co-renters, according to the statement. It plans to improve the energy efficiency of its homes as part of the strategy’s ESG provision.

With this acquisition, PGIM has so far committed almost £300 million under the strategy, which was launched in December 2020 and now has over 1,500 homes.

PGIM is the asset management arm of life insurer Prudential Financial Inc.

Source: leaderpost.com