Blackstone, a private equity firm, announced Tuesday that it had sold 3,00 shared-ownership houses to Britain's largest private pension fund. This is a sign that big money managers are increasingly making deals in the UK housing industry.

Blackstone sold its portfolio to the Universities Superannuation Scheme, a pension fund that manages assets worth more than 75 billion pound ($96 billion). The deal was valued at 405 million pound ($519million).

Blackstone purchased 1,750 rental houses from Vistry, a housebuilder, last month.

Shared ownership allows people to purchase a part of the property they want, if they can't afford the whole thing. They have the option to purchase the rest later.

Major investors are increasing their investments in British housing. They bet on long-term profits in a market with a demand that far exceeds the supply. This is happening at a moment when Britain's new Labour Government has pledged to build more homes.

Blackstone stated that the portfolio was sold through its Sage Homes vehicle, a joint venture housing with investor Regis launched in 2017.

Blackstone did not specify how it intended to use proceeds from the sale. However, it stated that the deal would enable it to continue investing capital in Sage Homes.

James Seppala, Blackstone's head of Europe real estate, said that the portfolio created by Blackstone was "an institutional grade" and had attracted long-term institutional investment into the sector.

(source: Reuters)