International developer and landlord Pembroke attended Expo Real this year as part of efforts to establish itself as a player in the multi-family sector on a global basis.
Speaking to PropertyEU at the event, Jack Clark, senior vice president and head of investments at Pembroke, said the company had previously largely focused on the office segment but had made the strategic decision to increase its multi-family and build-to-rent holdings.
‘We're meeting with folks here because we're stepping up on multi-family and BTR,’ he said. ‘We have some history in [the sector]. ‘We have multi-family in Tokyo and we developed it in the US just outside of Boston, but we're really focusing on [growing our multi-family portfolio] over the next few years.’
Clark said that Pembroke had already made a start by acquiring The Lark in Nine Elms, London, at the end of last year. ‘We're focused on finding more in London, but also in Germany, in Munich and Hamburg, and then also in the US, just outside of Washington DC in Northern Virginia and in Boston and Seattle. Then in APAC, it's Tokyo, Sydney and Melbourne.’
The reason for choosing those areas in particular, Clark added, is that they are all places where supply is failing to keep pace with demand for housing. ‘All these cities are great places to live and great employment centres, but they don't do a great job of delivering enough housing to meet demand,’ he said.
He added: ‘So from an investment fundamentals perspective, we think there continues to be really strong developments [in those cities] and we think we have the ability to manage and, in some cases, develop high-quality product. It really depends on the market and the opportunity and where things are in the cycle.’
