Investors have pumped almost £40 billion into the UK’s build-to-rent market during the last ten years.

Property consultancy Knight Frank reports that £30 billion of this directly targeted professionally managed, apartment-led build to rent, known as ‘multifamily housing’ which it says will be needed as an extra 550,000 tenants are expected to enter the PRS by 2036, rising to 1.5 million by 2050, reports Bloomberg News.

“While significant progress has been made in UK multifamily housing, the opportunity for scale and future market growth remains enormous,” says Nick Pleydell-Bouverie, head of residential investment. “Completed build-to-rent homes currently account for just 2.5% of our rental households in the UK. Even a modest rise, by global standards, to 10% of the marketing being institutional ownership, would require the delivery of an additional 467,000 units.”

According to Knight Frank, since 2020 almost 60% of all multifamily housing investment in the UK has come from overseas capital, with North American investors leading the way.

Combination

Pleydell-Bouverie adds: “The combination of rising trading activity, strengthening investor appetite and a long‑term structural undersupply is creating a uniquely resilient investment landscape. For those institutions who are seeking scale, stability and sustained growth, the opportunity in UK multifamily is only set to grow.”

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.

Build-to-rent giant Grainger was recently handed a massive cash boost after UK billionaire Mike Ashley acquired a 3.1% interest in the firm. However, the sector was recently shocked when John Lewis Partnership abandoned its plans to become a major build-to-rent player by pulling out of a £500m deal to build almost 1,000 rental homes in Bromley, Reading and West Ealing.

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