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Oaktree Capital Management is preparing to bring a sizable UK and Ireland build-to-rent platform to market, with plans for a London initial public offering that could value the business at around £1.2B, Green Street News reported.
The portfolio, branded CompassRock, comprises roughly 2,750 rental units, with a majority being stabilised, income-producing assets.
Citi and Jefferies are leading the IPO process, with a road show underway. Oaktree has declined to comment on the reports.
The properties are concentrated across the south of England and Dublin, giving the platform exposure to supply-constrained rental markets. Just over half of the units sit in the UK, with the balance in Ireland.
Notable schemes include Stafford Yard in Bristol's 295 units, Walton Court in Walton-on-Thames's 373 units, Market Quarter and Vantage Tower in Southampton's 279 and 170 units, respectively, Brightwells Yard in Farnham's 239 units, and the Glass Bottle development in Dublin, which accounts for approximately 700 units in its initial phase.
Oaktree is targeting around £500M of primary equity, with the majority of proceeds earmarked for forward growth rather than paying down debt or cashing out the private equity firm. Oaktree is expected to retain a substantial stake in the business, potentially in the region of 75%.
If successful, the vehicle would immediately scale to become the UK’s largest listed residential REIT by market capitalisation, overtaking Grainger, and would be the first pure-play UK and Irish multifamily REIT of its kind.
That would be significant given the relative underrepresentation of large-scale, income-focused residential platforms in the listed UK market compared with other global markets such as the U.S.
The business will be internally managed, with David Woodward expected to take the CEO role. CompassRock, which manages the assets, will form the operational element of the listed entity.
Investor appetite has rotated back toward defensive, income-generative assets amid volatility in growth equities, particularly U.S. tech and private capital strategies, creating a better environment for real estate IPOs than has been the case over the past 18 to 24 months.
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