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Closed-ended real estate investment trust, UK Residential REIT plc, its intention to float on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange on 2 June 2021. Should the company go ahead with the initial public offering (IPO), admission is expected in mid-July.

The pandemic related lockdown resulted in increased demand for bigger living spaces outside the city. This is coupled with Rishi Sunak’s announcement of a stamp duty holiday which was extended to June 2021, giving buyers an exemption to purchase tax on the first £500,000, up from a previous threshold of £125,000, of a property’s value. Given the current strength of property market, with UK house prices rising by their fastest annual rate in seven years and mortgage borrowing hitting its highest level since modern records began, the company has identified a prime moment for its intended IPO.

The company’s investment strategy aligns well with current market conditions by investing in ‘a diverse portfolio of affordable, residential properties in strong UK rental markets outside of prime central London’ including Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool and Bristol. To do so, it will acquire a £145m seed portfolio of 28 properties, comprising 1,214 residential units, six ancillary ground floor commercial units and two student blocks, which has already done well with 96% rent collection in 2020 and 95% average occupancy in past two years.

Richard Grainger, non-executive chairman of The UK Residential REIT, commented: ‘The UK faces a critical shortage of good quality homes for rent, in particular those that are both affordable for the majority of the working population, and which are in well-connected regional city locations that are forecast to see population increases in the future. The rate of new build stock will never keep pace with this demand, which offers an opportunity for professional investors to take the lead by creating a good quality mass market product and delivering a solution to one of the most urgent issues facing society today.’