Proptech firm to set up as a private landlord
A property technology company has announced plans to invest £1bn to buy and retrofit 3,000 private rented sector homes.
IMMO, backed by institutional investors, uses artificial intelligence and other technology to identify homes that offer ‘value-add’ opportunities, in this case properties that are not energy efficient.
It intends to buy 3,000 homes in the UK from private landlords by 2025 and bring them up to Energy Performance Certificate C standard. It will then manage the properties as a private landlord.
The firm has to date raised $2.5 billion from institutional investors to buy, retrofit and rent out 10,000 homes across Europe. A IMMO spokesperson said the firm has plans to raise an unspecified amount of additional capital on top of the $2.5bn.
Anna Clare Harper, head of sustainability at IMMO, said: “The built environment is one of the worst offenders when it comes to carbon emissions. Without a programme of mass retrofitting, the UK will not be able to meet its net-zero targets.
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“The private sector plays an important role. Institutional investors such as pension funds and insurers are increasingly on the hunt for assets that produce reliable, long-term income streams to match their liabilities in a way that is socially and environmentally responsible.”
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