Get Living opens door to recapitalisation and targets 12,500 homes

• £600m of new co-investment with Oxford Properties contributes to next growth phase
• Targeting 12,500 homes with a projected value of c£5.5bn across London and top UK cities
• Delancey, Qatari Diar and APG continue commitment to UK’s biggest rental platform
• Get Living, the UK’s biggest single-site rental scheme pioneer, continues expansion

Get Living, the UK’s leading privately backed residential company, is today announcing a major recapitalisation ahead of its next ambitious growth phase. As part of this transaction, Delancey advised client fund DV4 Ltd (“DV4”) and Oxford Properties (“Oxford”), the global real estate arm of OMERS, have formed Delancey Oxford Residential (“DOOR”), a new co-investment platform with initial capital commitments of c£600m.

DOOR will take approximately 39% ownership of the current Get Living portfolio which comprises over 2,000 existing homes across two London schemes at East Village, the former Athlete’s Village on the Olympic Park in Stratford, and Elephant Central in Elephant and Castle (E&C). These schemes sit alongside a development pipeline of approximately 4,400 homes, both at East Village and E&C as well as two sites in the key regional cities of Glasgow and Leeds (collectively, the “Portfolio”).

Minded to grant planning has recently been secured in respect of the future development of the E&C and Glasgow sites. APG and Qatari Diar will hold 39% and 22%, respectively, of the Portfolio.

The founding investors of Get Living (DV4, Qatari Diar and APG) will continue to back the business as a result of this reorganisation. Their early investment support helped to cement a significant first-mover advantage for Get Living, which pioneered and led the launch of what is now a multiple award winning, market leading proposition in the professionally managed residential rental sector.

The combination of DOOR, Qatari Diar and APG, representing some of the world’s most sophisticated institutional real estate investors, creates a new investment powerhouse in the UK’s large scale residential sector. The recapitalisation remains subject to EU Merger clearance.

Get Living – the UK’s largest Build-to-Rent operator

Founded in May 2013, Get Living has redefined the UK’s residential rental market by providing an unrivalled service for residents combined with accommodation developed to the highest specification.

In addition to Get Living’s early progress, Oxford brings the considerable success and experience of its multifamily investments and operations in North America to the venture. This is alongside its track record as a developer, owner and operator of assets in London and other major gateway cities in Europe and North America.

With significant capital available to grow, DOOR, Qatari Diar and APG are firmly committed to Get Living’s investment in additional large-scale residential-led developments, primarily in the Greater London area and the top six cities (by population) in the UK.

Future opportunities will consist of neighbourhoods with a minimum of 400 build-torent homes, and will comprise residential-led, mixed-use schemes with complementary student, co-living, retail, leisure, culture, hospitality and educational uses. Delancey with Oxford and Qatari Diar will continue to act as Development Managers on the various schemes. Get Living is targeting a portfolio of over 12,500 homes.

Strategy underpinned by demographic and market trends

A lack of high quality rental accommodation coupled with soaring house prices and subsequent unaffordability for first time buyers, has resulted in the rapid growth of the private rented sector (“PRS”) in the UK in recent years. This, together with a general shift in attitude to renting by choice means that this sector is forecast to represent one quarter of the UK housing market by 2021, bringing it into line with other global markets such as the US, Canada and Germany. The sector also has government support, including a series of measures to encourage more long-term institutional capital into the sector, providing strong market conditions for investment.

With the exceptional long-term fundamentals of the UK’s residential market, a market-leading platform comprising London’s premier purpose-built assets and the ability to invest significant new funds through a vehicle sponsored by global institutional investors, this marks an exciting new chapter in the UK’s large-scale residential investment sector. Sites will be acquired with the view to develop directly, whilst the partnership may also consider acquisitions and forward funding should opportunities arise that meet the investment criteria.

Jamie Ritblat, Founder and CEO of Delancey, comments: “We are extremely pleased that Oxford Properties, one of the most forward-thinking and rigorous, global institutional real estate investors and operators has chosen to work with Delancey and DV4, a Delancey advised client fund, on what we believe remains a compelling investment opportunity in UK real estate. Delancey and DV4 remain strongly committed to the residential sector in the UK after being an early adopter of the awardwinning London 2012 legacy neighbourhood, East Village, and we are excited about the prospects for working alongside Oxford and our existing partners Qatari Diar and APG, to further ourselves as leaders in this fast evolving sector.”

Paul Brundage, Executive Vice President and Senior Managing Director, Europe and Asia Pacific of Oxford Properties, comments: “Oxford is delighted to be partnering with Delancey and DV4 on our first investment into the private rented sector in the UK. Delancey are pioneers in PRS and have an enviable track record. The housing crisis is a key issue in the UK, and we are excited for DOOR to make a real impact as one of the UK’s leading PRS platforms. Following the Housing Paper issued by DCLG last year we look forward to working with Government to create good quality homes and places. Building on Oxford’s track record in owning and operating built to rent in North America, we expect to undertake further investment into the sector this year, demonstrating our commitment to London and the UK as a whole.”

Nabeel Al Buenain, GCEO of Qatari Diar, comments: “As a founding investor of Get Living and a global leader in creating sustainable real estate developments that promote a better quality of life, Qatari Diar is extremely proud of the milestones achieved over the last few years. With the new partnership with DOOR, we feel this platform is now second to none in terms of size, development pipeline and operating capabilities in the UK PRS sector.” 

Robert-Jan Foortse, Head of European Real Estate of Apg Asset Management, comments: “We are pleased with the addition of Oxford Properties to the investor base of Get Living, a core, long-term holding in our global real estate portfolio. The addition of such an esteemed like-minded institutional investor will solidify the strong base built up by Get Living since 2013 and allow it to continue to grow as a leading branded residential platform. With Get Living we aim to pursue more residential-led opportunities jointly with our partners DOOR and Qatari Diar.”

Neil Young, CEO, Get Living comments: “Get Living launched in 2013 to change the way the UK lives and rents and, as we approach our fifth anniversary, our pioneering business has become a well-recognised, established, success story. Oxford brings unmatched operational experience to our investor base and shares our vision to keep our residents and our neighbourhoods at the heart of our approach. This year, Get Living’s expansion out of London into some of the UK’s most exciting cities has set the scene for a period of aggressive growth, which this partnership with Oxford will only strengthen.”

Eastdil Secured and Lazard acted as advisors to Delancey/DV4 and Oxford Properties regarding the initial formation of DOOR.