Property investment platform IMMO has entered the UK market with a series of acquisitions in Manchester, kickstarting plans to invest £1bn to acquire and retrofit at least 3,000 rental homes across the UK by 2024.
As well as retrofitting existing homes, the company is also exploring the acquisition of new-build homes in energy-efficient developments. In addition to looking for additional sites in Manchester, IMMO is also scouting for opportunities in Leeds and Sheffield.
Samantha Kempe (pictured), chief investment officer at IMMO, said: “With our main office in London, we’re excited to enter the UK’s rental housing market. Manchester’s housing market displays all the right characteristics – chiefly compelling supply/demand dynamics and appropriate risk/return profile – for us to start on our mission of acquiring and upcycling over 3,000 homes across the UK.
“With the UK’s private rental housing stock among the oldest and draughtiest in Europe, it is no surprise there is growing demand from consumers for more sustainable homes. Limited government resources mean that the investment needed to retrofit Britain’s housing must come from elsewhere, and there is no better place to look than institutional investors, who are seeking investments that generate stable income streams and allow them to meet their ESG criteria.”
The company’s foray into the UK housing market follows its success in Germany and Spain where it has deployed the same model. Last year, IMMO raised $75m in equity in what it claims was Europe’s largest ever series B proptech funding round.
