Tokoro Capital (Tokoro), together with its vertically integrated student management business, Homie, and GCM Grosvenor, have established a long-term strategic partnership targeting UK student housing assets.
The vehicle is supported by £75m of commitments from GCM Grosvenor, providing circa £200m of investment capacity post leverage.
The vehicle will focus on acquiring and repositioning traditional houses of multiple occupancy and first-generation purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) assets, targeting domestic students who are looking for more affordable rental levels.
The partnership has already secured an initial seed portfolio of 440 beds, which, once closed, will position Homie as one of the largest institutional managers of student HMOs in the UK, according to Tokoro.
Max Bassadone, co-founding partner of Tokoro, said: “Sanjay and I have been looking at this sub-sector of the UK student housing market for a long time and aggregated a portfolio under TKO-II demonstrating our capability both in terms of execution of this investment thesis and building an operating platform. GCM Grosvenor’s conviction in forming this vehicle with us further validates this.”
Tom Ferber, founder of Homie, added: “We are really excited to partner with GCM Grosvenor to continue the expansion of the Homie platform. HMOs are the go-to housing solution for domestic students, especially in their second and third year, yet the sector remains largely untapped by institutional investors. This additional firepower will strengthen Homie’s early mover advantage in what we believe will be the next wave of institutional student housing investment in the UK.”
Peter Braffman, managing director at GCM Grosvenor, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Tokoro and Homie to expand our European presence into the UK student housing sector. Their clear strategic vision and proven execution capabilities give us confidence in their ability to create value.”
David Santola, principal at GCM Grosvenor, added: “By leveraging Tokoro and Homie’s deep student housing market knowledge and diligent property management team, we should be well positioned to perform in an already attractive sub-sector.”
