Canadian investment and asset management firm Starlight Investments has announced the closing of its second build-to-rent (BTR) fund, targeting 6,000 homes.
Visualisation of Starlight Investments’ build-to-rent scheme in Maidenhead (picture: Starlight Investments)
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Canadian investment and asset management firm Starlight Investments has announced the closing of its second build-to-rent fund, targeting 6,000 homes #UKhousingToronto-headquartered Starlight Investments has announced the closing of Starlight UK BTR Fund II.
The fund, together with capital raised through ancillary investment vehicles, has reached £680m in capital commitments. It will support the acquisition and development of more than 6,000 BTR homes across the UK.
The fund is partially deployed and includes three rental communities under construction: two in Manchester and one in Basildon.
The fund attracted participation from a group of global institutional investors across Europe, Asia-Pacific and Canada, both existing limited partners and several new investors.
In May, the fund received a commitment of £100m from Homes England’s newly established National Housing Bank (NHB), reinforcing the strategy’s alignment with countrywide efforts to increase the supply of much-needed rental housing.
The investment was among the first made through the NHB.
Fund II builds on Starlight Investments’ first UK BTR fund and continues the company’s long-term strategy of developing and operating rental housing in structurally undersupplied markets.
Starlight Investments is a privately held owner, developer and asset manager with C$30bn (about £16bn) in assets under management. Its UK platform is dedicated to the BTR sector, with a vision to provide thousands of new homes across major regional cities and key London commuter belt markets experiencing a pronounced shortage of rental housing.
The platform has 12 BTR communities spanning development through to active leasing and operations, and is focused on delivering rental housing in markets with strong demand and economic fundamentals.
“The successful close of Fund II reflects the strong institutional conviction behind Starlight’s UK residential strategy and the opportunity we continue to see in the market,” Raj Mehta, president of global markets at Starlight Investments, said.
“With the capital committed, we are well positioned to continue delivering homes in chronically undersupplied markets across the UK.”
Jonnie Milich, head of UK residential at Starlight Investments, said: “With Fund II now closed, our focus is on execution and the next phase of growth for our UK residential platform.
“We have built a significant pipeline, an experienced local team and a growing portfolio of communities moving through construction, lease-up and operations.
“As we continue to advance our pipeline and bring new communities online, our portfolio will place us among the UK’s top four BTR operators by scale.”
Last year, Starlight Investments bought 55 BTR homes from house builder Countryside Properties, a subsidiary of Vistry Group. The investor bought the development in Maidenhead, Berkshire, which was under construction at the time.
The transaction marked the firm’s 10th BTR acquisition in the UK since it entered the market in 2023 and brought its UK portfolio to 4,000 homes.
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