Investment platform IMMO enters UK via Manchester

The company, which acquires and manages rental homes on behalf of institutional investors, plans to invest £1bn to buy and retrofit at least 3,000 rental homes across the UK by 2024.

Headquartered in London, IMMO has acquired a handful of single-family rental homes across Greater Manchester to kick off its entry to the UK market.

The company said it will target Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield for their “solid underlying market fundamentals” and risk/return profiles.

Learn how industry leaders approach sustainable retrofits at PlaceTech’s workshop-style event, ESG: The Retrofit Playbook on 23 February.

Using proprietary in-house software, IMMO aggregates private rental portfolios by acquiring individual dispersed homes on behalf of investors such as pension funds and insurers.

Having established a portfolio of homes in Germany and Spain, the company plans to expand to 10,000 homes across Europe.

Three local authorities in Greater Manchester – Manchester, Wigan and Salford – are among the 10 most attractive for institutional investors in terms of risk and return trade-off, IMMO said, pointing to Manchester’s asking rents rising 20.5% in the 12 months to Q3 2022.

IMMO will retrofit its UK homes to a minimum EPC C rating where possible and also acquire new-build homes in energy-efficient developments.

Samantha Kempe, chief investment officer at IMMO, said: “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 means 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.

“We’re also looking to support Manchester’s economy through hiring locally and creating new rental homes fit for a modern workforce.”

IMMO’s entry into the UK follows a $75m fundraise last year, which became Europe’s largest ever Series B funding round.