TIAA Henderson Real Estate has joined the growing list of fund managers investing in the private rented sector with a debut purchase in London’s trendy Shoreditch area.
On behalf of a UK balanced fund, TH Real Estate has bought 1-3 Waterson Street, E2, from a private landlord. It paid £8.5m for the development, which comprises 17 flats.
Rob MacQueen, senior portfolio manager at TH Real Estate, said: “We believe the asset offers excellent rental growth potential, given the low passing rent relative to surrounding rental values.”
The company has not yet established how many flats it wants to buy in the sector, and purchases are expected to be opportunity driven.
Mike Sales, managing director, Europe, at TH Real Estate, added: “UK PRS is a sector of the market that we are increasingly interested in. We recognise the long-term growth potential attached to the market, particularly in locations such as London that will continue to benefit from long-term trends such as urbanisation.”
The sector is growing rapidly, with Savills forecasting recently that the number of PRS properties in England and Wales will increase from 4.9m this year to 6m by 2019.
Savills and CWM acted for TH Real Estate; Stirling Ackroyd advised the vendor.
