Private equity groups Blackstone and Regis have agreed to buy 1,750 new homes for rent from UK homebuilder Vistry. The deal is for £580m.

This brings the number of homes bought by Blackstone and Regis from Vistry at 4,500 in the last year – for a total of £1.4bn.

Blackstone is a large owner of rental homes in the US – and is expanding this model to Europe.

Purchases of European residential properties to rent by private equity is likely to grow considerably.

As more private equity firms buy UK residential properties to rent – these portfolios will need debt funding – in the form of private debt or through securitisation as commercial-mortgage-backed securities (CMBS)

There is an opportunity for investment bank securitisation desks and private debt providers to support private equity firms with these purchases.

There is also an opportunity to partner early and source deals together with equity funders – including non-private equity funders such as sovereign wealth funds and family offices.