Partnership between Ridgeback and Morgan Stanley real estate arm buys 3,200-home business
L&Q has completed the £1bn sale of its private rented sector business to an investment fund managed by Morgan Stanley in partnership with Ridgeback Group.
Housing Today first revealed the 110,000-home provider was exploring the sale of the PRS business and strategic land function back in May 2024.
Its land business was sold to Urban & Civic in July that year, while the PRS arm was officially put up for sale in November.
The sales are part of a long-term strategy to simplify the housing association’s organisation and prioritise its core purpose as a social housing provider.
The PRS business, which trades as Metra Living, owns and manages a portfolio of around 3,200 homes in Greater London. The sale includes the transfer of its operational platform and team and its £300m of external debt facilities.
L&Q chose the partnership between Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing (MSREI) and Ridgeback as its preferred partner in June 2025.
MSREI currently manages $58bn (£43bn) of gross real estate assets worldwide on behalf of its clients, while Ridgeback, an investor, developer and operator, has more than £2.6bn of assets under management.
The housing association will continue to provide freeholder services to PRS homes leased within its buildings.
“The sale of Metra Living is a key milestone in delivering our long term strategy, and we’re extremely pleased to have reached this agreement with MSREI,” said Fiona Fletcher-Smith, group chief executive at L&Q.
“We’re proud to have grown a successful PRS business since 2015, but we have a clear strategy to simplify our business and focus on our core purpose as a social housing provider. This sale further strengthens our financial resilience, supporting our long-term drive to invest in new and existing homes across Greater London and Greater Manchester.”
“Recent government measures have brought much-needed investment and financial certainty to the housing sector. This sale puts us in the strongest position to maximise these opportunities, and deliver our strategy from a position of financial strength.”
Gowling WLG and Clifford Chance advised Morgan Stanley and Ridgeback. Pinsent Masons, Knights and Winckworth Sherwood advised L&Q.
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