UK: Placefirst and Gatehouse IM have both completed SFR acquisitions from housebuilders Miller Homes and Persimmon respectively.
Placefirst has acquired 76 units from Miller Homes in Widnes, Cheshire. The scheme includes two-, three- and four-bedroom houses within the Lunts Heath Rise development. The forward-funded deal will see Placefirst let, manage and maintain the homes once construction is completed in spring 2026.
The wider Lunts Heath Rise development is set to provide a new community featuring 328 one-to-five-bedroom homes. Miller Homes is also contributing more than £1.2 million to the local area, with improvements including open and recreational spaces, highway improvements and public transport travel incentives.
Danny O’Connor, divisional managing director at Miller Homes, said: “Miller Homes is delighted to have agreed a deal with Placefirst to deliver 76 homes for the private rented sector in Widnes, and hope this forms the foundation for many more in the future. We look forward to providing high quality and sustainable homes at our Lunts Heath Rise development, and investing in the neighbourhood to ensure that the community we help build, and the people living in it, can grow and prosper.”
David Mawson, CEO of Placefirst, said: “Our presence in the North West is well established, however, to fulfil our ambition to increasing the number of options for high-quality rental homes, we can’t rest on our existing successes. With the demand for housing continuing to grow, expanding supply is crucial in order to support the region’s communities. Through close collaboration with partners, such as Miller Homes, we will continue to address the UK’s lack of quality housing, delivering professionally maintained homes in the right locations to offer residents the security they need.”
Elsewhere Gatehouse Investment Management, as part of its joint venture with The Carlyle Group, has acquired 82 units from Persimmon Homes for £18.7 million.
The homes are located across two new sites in Nottinghamshire – in Gedling and Hucknall. Over the next 18 months, Persimmon Homes will deliver 42 homes within its Bardolph View development in Gedling, and 40 homes at its Hawkers Place site in Hucknall to Gatehouse IM.
John Coles, director of acquisitions at Gatehouse IM, said: “Nottinghamshire is a location we know and understand well, with strong demographic support for increased SFR provision, and as such it is fantastic to be expanding our presence in the county. Both Bardolph View and Hawkers Place are established master planned schemes with a strong base of amenities, excellent transport links and good local schooling provision perfect for our target rental market. Through our previous deal with Persimmon Homes, we have seen the high-quality product they deliver, and hope to work with them again on further acquisitions.”
Anssi Halonen, managing director and head of acquisitions on the Carlyle Europe Realty advisory team, added: “This acquisition is testament to our ability, alongside our partners Gatehouse, to identify high-quality, well-situated assets, complemented by excellent transport links and local amenities. We are pleased to continue expanding our UK residential platform and look forward to seeing these homes delivered between now and the end of 2025.”
This acquisition is the joint venture’s second deal with Persimmon Homes, following its acquisition of 174 homes across three West Midlands schemes in December 2023 – in Coventry, Stoke and Dudley – for £35 million.
In total, Gatehouse IM and Carlyle’s joint venture has completed the purchase of, or is under offer on, more than 820 homes nationwide. These homes will be managed by Ascend – the UK’s largest third-party operator of SFR, overseeing 7,500 properties.
