Greystar, a global leader in the investment, development and management of rental apartments, announces the final closing of the Greystar Equity Partners Europe II (“GEPE II”) fund with total commitments of more than €2.7 billion. This makes GEPE II the largest pan-European residential value-add fund to date. With this discretionary mandate, Greystar now has an investment capacity of over €6.8 billion for acquisitions and project developments in the main European metropolitan markets.
With the final closing, GEPE II outperforms its predecessor fund Greystar Equity Partners Europe I (“GEPE I”) by more than 76 percent. A total of EUR 2.2 billion in equity commitments was raised for the fund – above the target volume of EUR 2.0 billion – supplemented by a further EUR 550 million via discretionary co-investment vehicles. The successful closing also marks another milestone in Greystar’s global value-add fund strategy with funds in Europe, the US and Asia-Pacific.
With GEPE II, Greystar has gained a globally diversified institutional investor base from Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. Anchor investors include sovereign wealth funds and leading pension funds. The quality and breadth of the investor base, which for the first time also includes family offices, is a clear signal of the institutional appeal of the European rental housing market as well as the increasing demand for this asset class from new investor groups.
The fund invests in acquisition and development opportunities in key European markets, including the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Ireland and France. Greystar relies on its existing platform and a long-established management team to invest in markets with a structural supply deficit, positive demand dynamics and high barriers to entry.
GEPE II focuses on the rental living sector with a focus on user-oriented multi-family housing units and purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA). The portfolio is to include both modern properties with high sustainability standards and residential offers with affordable rents, thus addressing the so-called demand of the middle income group, especially against the backdrop of rising residential property costs.
The GEPE funds do not promote environmental or social characteristics and do not pursue a sustainable investment strategy within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector (“SFDR”). Greystar’s commitment to sustainability is reflected, among other things, in the rating of its predecessor fund GEPE I, whose portfolio was awarded five stars as part of the GRESB Real Estate Assessment 2025. The properties have certifications to leading standards in their respective markets, including AirRated in the UK, the House Performance Index in Ireland and HQE in France.
To date, more than 910 million euros of equity have already been invested or committed via GEPE II. This includes 28 investments with a total of around 13,000 apartments and beds. In addition, other opportunities with a volume of around 425 million euros are at an advanced stage of review and negotiation.
GEPE II’s investments to date include “Boadilla Hills” in Madrid with 458 apartments, a PBSA portfolio with 1,758 beds in Copenhagen, the built-to-rent residential complex “Barking Wharf” in London with 595 units, a mixed PBSA portfolio with 1,690 beds in Ireland including “Point Campus” in Dublin and “& Amsterdam” in the Netherlands with 561 residential units. These investments illustrate that Greystar can identify attractive market opportunities at an early stage and implement them efficiently. GEPE I sold its first assets in 2025 and is selectively focusing on the realisation of further exits as the portfolio matures.
Greystar’s European platform spans eight countries and includes more than €19 billion in assets under management or under operation, over 91,000 built-to-rent apartments and PBSA beds, and around 1,100 local employees. Since its first investment in Europe in 2013, Greystar has successfully completed residential real estate transactions totalling more than €30 billion for its funds and other investment vehicles in Europe. As a result, the company has been able to build up in-depth local expertise and strong networks that will strengthen both investment and operational capacities in the long term.
Daniel Breeden, Senior Managing Director – Investment Europe at Greystar, says:
“In our view, the European rental housing market continues to be one of the most attractive investment areas for institutional capital. We are seeing a structural supply deficit, limited new construction activity and a widening gap between rental and ownership costs in many markets. In our view, long-term and operationally strong investors in particular are in a position to benefit from these market conditions – which is exactly what GEPE II aims to do.
Trust is not only created by the market environment, but above all by the platform that our teams in Europe have built up over more than a decade. Our local presence, robust market knowledge and established relationships enable us to identify attractive opportunities at an early stage and create high-quality housing.
The fact that the fund closed above its target size and raised capital from some of the world’s most renowned long-term investors confirms confidence in this approach. Access to high-quality housing is increasingly becoming one of the central challenges of urban spaces – and institutional capital can make an important contribution to solving it.”
Wes Fuller, Chief Investment Officer of Greystar, adds:
“In our opinion, rental housing is one of the most convincing and long-term investments on the real estate markets worldwide. Benefiting from structurally strong, demographically driven demand coupled with a chronic shortage of supply, the asset class has historically proven resilient across various economic cycles, both during the global financial crisis and during the pandemic.
What sets Greystar apart is the breadth of what we do within a single field of expertise. With more than 1.1 million residential units under management worldwide, we have real-time operational data and market insights that inform our investment decisions. This integrated model – investment, development and operation from a single source – has enabled us to generate value in the GEPE fund series primarily through NOI growth and operational excellence, and not primarily through yield compression or financial engineering.
With GEPE II, we are leveraging our scalable platform in Europe at a time when market valuations have adjusted, entry yields have become more attractive, new construction supply remains limited and fundamental demand continues to grow. Our focus is on markets with the strongest long-term fundamentals and attractive risk-adjusted return opportunities for our investors.”
Daniel Breeden, Senior Managing Director – Investment Europe at Greystar
Wes Fuller, Chief Investment Officer at Greystar
