UK: LRC Group has acquired five BTR assets comprising more than 600 units in an off-market transaction.
The vendor was a joint venture between Invesco Real Estate and operator/developer PLATFORM_, advised by the residential investment team of Knight Frank.
LRC Group is a privately held real estate investment and fund management firm with €6 billion of assets under management.
The portfolio comprises five residential buildings in the south of England – in Exeter, Stevenage, Bedford, Bracknell, and Crawley. With 608 residential apartments and four commercial interests, the portfolio is one of the largest BTR transactions to take place in 2024.
Amenity provision across all the assets includes concierge services, gyms, outdoor terraces, bicycle storage, car parking and resident lounges.
All five assets were converted from office to residential use under permitted development rights in 2016/17 by PLATFORM_. Invesco formed its joint venture with PLATFORM_ to acquire an interest in the buildings, the first branded portfolio of institutional quality BTR properties in the UK, in 2017. PLATFORM_ provided asset management and property management services for the portfolio.
Tom McFerran, director – fund management at Invesco Real Estate, said: “We are pleased to announce the successful sale of our residential portfolio, which we have actively developed as part of our strategic business plan. Invesco Real Estate have invested €1.2 billion into the residential sector over the past 2 years, and this successful disposal underlines our commitment to creating premium housing and delivering value for our stakeholders. We will continue to pursue our objective of creating high-quality communities and exploring new growth opportunities.”
Jean-Marc Vandevivere, chief executive at PLATFORM_, added: “This sale marks the successful conclusion of our joint venture with Invesco after 7.5 years. We are proud of the performance PLATFORM_ has delivered over that period as JV partner, asset manager, and property manager. These sites were amongst the first institutional BTR assets to be developed in the UK, and the first nationally branded portfolio. At PLATFORM_ we’re continuing to expand our portfolio of ground-up BTR developments of scale in key urban centres across the UK, including the launch of our new scheme in Edinburgh earlier this month.”
The joint venture’s legal advisors were Shoosmiths.
Earlier this week, LRC Group acquired a 177-unit BTR asset in Harrow, north-west London, for more than £58 million.
