Investors based in the US and Nordic regions are taking advantage of stalled domestic activity to negotiate deals for acquiring build-to-rent properties in the UK, according to Savills.
Polly Simpson, director and head of multifamily development at Savills, said at a UKAA BTR and Beyond panel session yesterday (15 November) that domestic investors had hit pause on deal negotiations. She said the broad view among those buyers was to restart talks in January 2023.
While those domestic investors hold off to take stock of the situation, Simpson noted that internationally-based opportunistic buyers had jumped on the chance to make the most of the diluted competitive landscape.
Simpson said: “Investors that are prolific in multifamily investment in the States, and some Nordic investors across continental Europe that have had faster price adjustment because [they are in] more established, mature markets, see the UK right now as a fundamental opportunity to invest.
“This is not least because some of the original players are pausing strategies, but there is a currency aspect and we have a supply and demand imbalance, and because we are going through a process of rental growth and discovery.
“The landscape of investment is going to change, as there will be several new investors in the sector over the course of the next 12 months pulled over by all of these things, coupled with the lack of opportunity in their normal investment geographies.”
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