Last updated 7 March 2023
Greystar Europe Holdings
Greystar Europe is part of the Greystar Group, which was founded in 1993 by Bob Faith and is an active investor in build-to-let residential development. The group works across Europe, North and South America and Asia-Pacific.
The group has 65 offices around the world, employs more than 21,000 people, has $59 billion in total assets under management and annual global revenue of more than $10 billion.
Financials
In the UK in the 2021 calendar year, turnover at Greystar Europe Holdings edged up to £30.6 million (2020: £28.3 million). After a fall in the previous year, pre-tax profits rebounded and hit £5.4 million (2020: £4.5 million). At an operating level, Greystar’s profits rose to £5.5 million (2020: £4.8 million).
To view the financials for Greystar Europe Holdings Ltd, visit Companies House and use Company ID 08741469.
Operations
Greystar has its international headquarters in Charleston, South Carolina, Greystar manages and operates real estate in 215 markets and has 794,000 multi-family units and student beds under management globally.
Greystar Europe manages more than $9.5 billion and 36,771 units and student beds. In the UK, Greystar Europe has its headquarters in London and also has other European offices in Dublin, The Hague, Frankfurt, Barcelona, Paris, and Madrid. In the UK, the group predominantly works in London and often in joint venture with other partners from the private and public sectors. The group works on six development types: multifamily, student, 55+, life science, mixed use and industrial.
In December 2021, Greystar announced a partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) of up to £2.2 billion to develop build to rent housing in London and its surrounding commuter towns. Greystar and ADIA subsidiaries have been working on a portfolio of more than 6,000 homes for students and young professionals in the Netherlands under the OurDomain brand. In the UK, the partnership’s first development will be on a 0.84-acre site at Lombard Road in Battersea, south London. Greystar purchased the site for £31 million in June 2021.
As part of this partnership, Greystar has bought Fizzy Living from Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing and taken control of the management of its portfolio, which comprises nearly 1,000 homes. The implied portfolio valuation of this acquisition was in the region of £400 million.
Elsewhere, Greystar Europe is working with Stolkin Properties on the £600 million redevelopment of a site formerly occupied by Glaxo Smith Kline and Sunblest Bakery at Ealing in west London, where 2,000 purpose built rental homes are being developed at the Greenford Quay (Project ID: 13391147). Greystar also has planning permission for a £100 million scheme to build 407 units at the Crown Trading Estate at Hillingdon, where work is expected to start in late 2023 once vacant possession of the site has been secured (Project ID: 20087533).
The group is involved at the Nine Elms development at Wandsworth in south London on the £47.4 million Parkside scheme, where the group’s partner is housebuilder Telford Homes (Project ID: 18413159). On the £155 million Capital House development at Southwark in south London, Greystar Europe is working in partnership with the local London borough and construction started in 2022 (Project ID: 18044416).
Greystar Europe is also building Europe’s tallest modular building in Croydon with 836 units being built in the £200 million CoLiving scheme at College Road in Croydon (Project ID: 19346011).
Glenigan Data
In the 2022 calendar year, Greystar Europe Holdings awarded main contracts to contractors valued at £11.4 million but did not feature in Glenigan’s rankings of the Top 100 construction clients.
Conclusion: Hiatus?
Turnover rose in 2021 and on most financially, the latest available results show a business in good health.
Operating margins firmed to 18% in 2021 (2020: 17%) even though the workforce was increased by 11% to an average of 347 employees (2020: 312 employees), which pushed the wage bill up 17% to £24.2 million (2020: £20.6 million). Cash and cash equivalents fell back to £3.8 million (2020: £5.3 million) but total assets increased to £35.5 million (2020: £28.5 million).
Greystar’s investment programme in the UK is rapidly gaining speed. Developments in Croydon, Hillingdon and Wandsworth are underway and other major schemes also have planning and are due to start this year in Hillingdon and Greenford. All of these projects are in and around London.
More recently, while work is progressing on several major schemes where Greystar Europe is involved, Glenigan’s data shows a slowdown in main contracts awarded and the group has slipped out of the ranking of the industry’s top 100 clients.
The ADIA deal should be what takes Greystar to the next level. The first site to be developed with ADIA is also in London but the partnership is expected to stretch outside of the capital.
In addition to Greystar’s large programme of build-to-rent developments in the UK, the group will also invest in Fizzy Living’s portfolio, which is Canning Town, Lewisham, Epsom, Stepney Green, Poplar, Walthamstow, Hayes and Silvertown. Greystar will plans to start capital improvements and ‘other operational enhancements’, while planning has started the £500 million One Lansdowne development of 825 homes in Croydon, where work should start in 2024 (Project ID: 08457698).
With a £2.2 billion programme of works expected in the UK as a result of the agreement with ADIA, Greystar is set to become a major construction industry client even if the current position suggests a hiatus.
Winning Work With Greystar Europe
Glenigan’s research shows that main contractors that Greystar Europe works with range from specialist contractors such as Century Facades and Maylim to mid-sized contractors including Corley + Wolley and Tide Construction to major players such as Mace. Architects and planners that are working on developments for Greystar Europe include Allies and Morrison, DP9, HTA Design and Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates. The group also uses Cantillon and Keltbray for demolition work.
Greystar increasingly favour’s Modern Methods of Construction on its residential projects and has used pods produced by Tide’s offsite division, Vision Modular Systems.
Key Greystar Europe procurement contacts include:
Managing director, development – Dan Thompson, tel: 020-3595-3333
Development director – Michela Hancock, tel: 020-3595-3333
Capital projects director – Liam Maden, tel: 020-3595-3333