Blackstone has sold 3,000 homes to the UK's largest private pension fund, Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), for £405 million (S$686 million). The homes were part of a shared ownership portfolio from Sage Homes, an affordable housing provider majority-owned by Blackstone. This transaction is one of the largest housing deals in the UK this year, second only to Blackstone's earlier purchase of 1,750 homes from Vistry Group for £580 million.

Blackstone, the world's largest alternative-asset manager, has been focusing heavily on residential property investments. The firm aims to capitalize on a predicted housing supply shortage and prefers real estate with shorter leases to quickly benefit from rising rents. In November, Blackstone completed the largest UK residential deal of 2023 by acquiring 2,800 homes for £800 million.

The sale to USS aligns with the UK’s new Labour government's housing goals, which include building 1.5 million new homes over five years. Institutional investors like private equity firms and pension funds are increasingly crucial in addressing the UK's rental housing shortage.

This deal is also notable as the largest acquisition of shared ownership homes since the program's inception in 1990. Shared ownership allows buyers to purchase a portion of their home and gradually acquire the rest over time.

James Seppala, Blackstone’s head of real estate Europe, stated that the transaction would enable further investment into Sage Homes to help mitigate the structural housing undersupply.