Build-to-rent giant Grainger has been handed a high-profile boost after billionaire Mike Ashley acquired a 3.1% interest in the firm.

Ashley, the boss of retail giant Frasers, which includes Sports Direct and House of Fraser, made the multi-million-pound spread bet – a wager that allows him to profit from the company’s rising stock price without facing tax bills or legal hurdles of owning the actual shares, reports Bloomberg.

This allows him to bypass the 0.5% stamp duty on purchases as he bets on price movements and makes him a silent partner in the UK’s largest listed residential landlord in the private rented sector.

Pipeline

Grainger operates 11,100 rental homes and has a £1.4 billion pipeline of another 5,000 build-to-rent homes, with new schemes opening in Oxford, London and Bristol. In its latest financial results, rental income at Grainger jumped 12% to £123.6 million while pre-tax profit more than doubled to £102.6 million.

CEO Helen Gordon has previously predicted that the Renters’ Rights Act will “professionalise the rental market and raise standards”, while smaller landlords will “find the new regime challenging and will therefore accelerate their exit from the market, further constraining supply”.

Praised

The firm has also praised the government for backing the BTR sector’s efforts, as “demand continues to grow, and rental supply continues to be constrained as small, private landlords face increasing headwinds”. It says the regulatory backdrop is accelerating this trend, while it has seen an increasing number of positive statements in support for build-to-rent from the UK government.

The first independent report into the BTR sector by Centre for Cities tracked huge growth in urban areas and city centres where it is taking up the slack from traditional landlords. The supply of new BTR homes jumped from less than 1,000 in 2004 to almost 90,000 in large cities in 2024 - 14% of new homes.

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