KKR has increased its exposure to the UK build-to-rent market by acquiring Legal & General's The Slate Yard portfolio of three BTR multifamily buildings in Manchester for more than £100M.

The Manchester portfolio consists of 424 residential units across three properties totalling 270K SF. Amenities include a gym, resident lounges and coworking spaces.

The portfolio was acquired with Inhabeo, KKR Real Estate’s living sector platform in Europe, which was founded in 2023.

In January 2024, KKR acquired two BTR multifamily buildings from Quintain at Wembley Park for an undisclosed sum. The buildings, Alameda and Beton, were completed in 2019 and 2020, respectively, and totalled 490 units and circa 40K SF of retail and leisure space.

KKR made that investment through its European core-plus real estate strategy, and Quintain was appointed to manage the residential and retail elements through its Quintain Living management platform. The Manchester deal is also for its core-plus platform.

“Acquiring strategically located, high-quality residential assets in major urban centres continues to be one of our main investment themes in Europe, driven by positive market trends and compelling structural dynamics,” KKR Real Estate European principal Mark Ekinde said in a statement. “The investment also expands KKR’s portfolio of residential real estate in both the UK and Europe, including assets in London, Birmingham, Brighton & Hove as well as Germany, Finland and Denmark.”

“This acquisition marks an important milestone in the continued growth of our European living sector investments with KKR, which now exceed £500M,” Inhabeo CEO Ross Netherway added.

KKR and Inhabeo were advised by CBRE and DLA Piper, while L&G was advised by Knight Frank and Macfarlanes.

The deal comes as Cushman & Wakefield’s latest research revealed that 80% of investors in Europe’s living sector expect to increase their living allocations over the next five years, with purpose-built student accommodation and the private rental sector their top targets.

The firm’s European Living Investor Survey 2025 report incorporated views from institutional investors responsible for managing more than €1.4T in global commercial real estate assets, and PRS accounted for €33B of the circa €45B invested in the European living sector in 2024, with a further €6B invested in PBSA. In all, 75% plan to increase their exposure to student accommodation over the next three years.

In 2024, nearly 90% of investors were looking to deploy capital into PRS and BTR over the next few years. But that figure has fallen to 73% in 2025, Cushman & Wakefield reported, with regulatory pressures and planning challenges weighing on BTR development in the UK. Appetite for senior living also declined.

Co-living emerged as the fastest-growing segment, with 44% of respondents expecting to invest in the sector by 2028, up from 33% invested now.

The UK led investor interest, with Spain replacing Germany as the second-most-favoured market. France, Italy and Portugal all moved up investor rankings, while Ireland and the Nordic countries moved down.