Blackstone has hired Goldman Sachs and CBRE to explore selling its UK rental platform Leaf Living, potentially fetching over £1bn. The 2021 joint venture with Regis targeted family-friendly, newly built rental homes during a boom in institutional build-to-rent investments. Low interest rates and strong demand made such platforms attractive to private equity firms.

Market conditions have since shifted. Higher borrowing costs and increased regulatory scrutiny of institutional landlords have cooled the sector. Despite steady rental demand driven by tight housing supply and high mortgage rates, investor enthusiasm for large-scale platforms has waned.

This move aligns with Blackstone’s broader European real estate reshuffling, including its recent review of a €1.2bn Spanish residential portfolio. The firm is actively rotating capital amid changing macroeconomic conditions. A sale could attract diversified real estate investors or sovereign wealth funds seeking exposure to UK rental markets.