Realstar

Our role

Investec Real Estate (“Investec”) announces that it has provided a fund managed by Realstar Group (“Realstar”), a privately owned real-estate investment and management company, with a three-year £22 million investment loan secured against UNCLE Manchester, a prime multifamily scheme in central Manchester. UNCLE Manchester comprises 171 studio and one-bedroom apartments in a Grade II-listed former warehouse building, originally built in about 1914, with original features, top specification appliances and designer furnishings.

Sebastian Walley at Investec Real Estate, said: 

“Demand in Manchester for well located, highly amenitised rental homes continues to outstrip supply, driven by Manchester’s population growth, position as the UK’s second city and high employee retention rates. UNCLE Manchester is a great example of a regenerated asset that complements the history of the original building while delivering a high quality and much needed product that meets the needs of today’s tenant.

“This is the Real Estate team’s first transaction with Realstar, a UK leader in the BTR space who join our global network of over 150+ clients.”

Ryan Prince, CEO of Realstar, commented:

“Cities are the heart and soul of our world and that is why Realstar continues to invest in high quality city living. We believe that long-term, professional ownership within the residential sector is a key element for increasing housing supply in the areas that need it most.

“We are delighted to have completed our first financing with Investec and hope that this will lead to many more opportunities to work alongside their excellent team”

About Realstar

Founded in 1974, Realstar is a privately owned real estate investment and property management firm specialised in the rental residential, hospitality and alternative sectors.  It owns and/or manages in excess of C$9B of assets. 

Realstar is one Canada's largest and most respected privately owned residential landlords with over 25,000 apartments.

Realstar's UK operation was established by Ryan Prince in 2002. Since then, the company has acquired and developed over £3.5B of assets, including a portfolio of 73 Holiday Inn hotels comprising of 13,000 rooms and over 5,000 rental residential and student accommodation assets as well as a national portfolio of primary healthcare centres.

More recently, the company created UNCLE - a new kind of rental housing brand.  Rated #1 on Trust Pilot in the UK, UNCLE's mission is to offer 'renting as it should be'.  From a standing start in 2017, UNCLE now has 13 locations open and under construction in London, Leeds and Manchester and through its joint venture with QuadReal, is seeking to at least double in size of the next 3-5 years.