Gatehouse Bank has sold its Thistle Build to Rent (BTR) property portfolio to Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division and Pitmore for £150m.
The deal consists of a portfolio of 918 units, predominantly two-and-three-bedroom homes across North-West England.
Barclays will be providing loan finance to Goldman Sachs to support the purchase.
Charles Haresnape (pictured), Gatehouse Bank’s CEO, said: “Thistle has not only been a highly performing investment throughout, it has also proved resilient during the Covid-19 pandemic, which is a key consideration in this market. As such, a strategic decision was made to exit Thistle and crystalise returns for the investors.
“The marketing process generated a high level of world-class institutional investor interest and we are pleased to announce a deal has been finalised with Goldman Sachs.”
Thistle, a Single-Family Home (SFH) Private Rental Sector (PRS) Fund launched in 2014, is a joint venture between Gatehouse and Sigma Capital Group plc with a total investment in the region of £110m.
The portfolio is made up of 918 units on 15 sites across the north-west, predominantly the Greater Manchester and Liverpool areas.
PwC and CBRE are now working with Gatehouse to source a new capital partner – maintaining the same investment composition and seeking to grow its single-family PRS portfolio to more than 3,000 units over the next five years through forward-funding direct from developers.