New REIT aims to invest £500m in buying homes for rent

Investment manager Moorfield has launched a new Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), aiming to attract £500m of investment to buy homes for rent.

Moorfield is seeking bulk acquisitions of homes from housebuilders in the face of falling demand, to rent out as single family homes or student homes. It is also looking at buying homes from buy-to-let investors who want to exit the market.

It has raised an initial £100m of capacity and is targeting £500m overall from institutional investors, such as pension funds.

Charles Ferguson Davie, chief investment Officer at Moorfield Group, said: “We believe that MREIT’s acquisition strategy will offer an attractive exit option for buy-to-let investors looking to sell, as well as housebuilders that are increasingly considering bulk sales in the face of a weakening ‘for-sale’ market.   

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“We are targeting locations with strong underlying demand, identified for our core demographics – long-term renters and domestic students - but where new supply is limited to ensure that MREIT benefits from sustainable rental growth.”