UK: Investment manager MGT has hired Adina David, former director of urban living at Greystar.
She joins as MGT Investment Management looks to increase its exposure to the UK BTR sector. As a shareholder and member of MGT’s executive team, David will help drive the company’s growth and support its expansion.
David was formerly vice president of investments at The Collective before rejoining Greystar. She is the founder of Ladies in Real Estate, a networking group promoting mentorship and support for future industry stars, and has also played a prominent role with Urban Land Institute’s work to promote emerging living real estate sectors.
MGT has assembled a £1.4 billion residential portfolio. David will now be responsible for building out a rental living strategy, encompassing multi-family and single-family housing.
Drawing on her wide-ranging experience across the financing, design, development and the operation of different living real estate asset classes, MGT’s ambition is “to offer capital partners and development partners best-in-class sectoral expertise”.
David will work alongside MGT’s three founders in shaping and evolving the company’s ESG policies. The company says there will be a high focus on integrating technology to enhance health and wellbeing and to challenge conventional thinking around design while also prioritising social value measurement across new developments.
David’s appointment follows MGT securing initial equity from a mix of domestic and international investors for a new £1 billion rental living investment vehicle, which will forward fund or purchase multi- and single-family housing assets around London and the south of England.
MGT, which has existing backing from the Baupost Group and Oaktree Capital, has a £1.4 billion stabilised and development portfolio of more than 2,000 homes, with projects underway in Reading as well as Battersea and Greenwich in south London.
The company recently completed a £100 million debt funding deal with Deutsche Bank, which builds on previous agreements with AIG and Homes England.
Henry Morris, managing director at MGT, said: “Adina will play a central role in our ambitious plans to significantly grow our rental living portfolio through a new £1bn investment vehicle. Her experience within several vertically-integrated businesses will prove invaluable as we look to fund institutional-grade, best-in-class schemes. We believe that injecting best practice around design and operations will not only create better homes for our future residents, but also a significant uplift in performance for our capital partners.”
Adina David, executive director at MGT, said: “Spearheading MGT’s rental living strategy will allow me to deliver more housing options to a wide range of residents, as well as continuing to drive innovation in the living asset classes. I am excited to continue working in UK residential for rent, a sector that I’m extremely passionate about.”
“MGT has built up an impressive track record and being able to offer global expertise in this asset class will help us to move quickly and identify exciting new opportunities across a segment that remains critically under-served across the UK,” she added.
