Greystar and Emirati wealth fund explore sale of £400m build-to-rent portfolio

Property agency JLL has been appointed to undertake a review of the assets, according to Green Street News which first reported the sale.

The review could entail a full or part sale of the portfolio or of individual schemes. Greystar declined to comment for this article.

ADIA has been reviewing its European holdings, with its higher-risk value-add portfolio expected to attract significant interest.

Greystar announced its strategic partnership with ADIA in December 2021, with a pledge of up to £2.2bn to provide BTR housing through ground-up development in London and its surrounding commuter towns.

The partnership had been targeting a development pipeline of approximately £1.8bn in total capitalisation and equity commitments of up to £750m between the partners.

Through the partnership, Greystar took on management of the Fizzy Living portfolio from housing association MTVH, which first developed the schemes.

As part of the transaction, the Fizzy Living brand and more than 30 of its employees were moved across to Greystar, increasing its footprint in London.

Harry Downes, who ran Fizzy Living, left Greystar at the end of 2024. Greystar’s current executive director, Mark Allnutt, was also at Fizzy Living and joined Greystar in 2014 as one of its first UK hires.

Last month, Greystar was closing in on a deal to buy 900 BTR flats in London. The BTR giant had been in talks to buy the homes in Elephant and Castle, south London, from Australian developer Lendlease and CPPIB, Canada’s biggest pension fund. The deal was worth around £500m. If concluded, it would be one of the largest-ever UK BTR transactions.

In January, Greystar appointed Thomasin Renshaw as its managing director of UK development to lead its BTR and PBSA strategies. Ms Renshaw previously served as chief development officer at Pocket Living, overseeing its pipeline of London schemes including Sheepcote Road in Harrow and Atlas Wharf in Old Oak.