Great Gulf, Westdale and a Global Institutional Investor Team up to Form US$200M Venture on Build-to-Rent Single Family Housing Strategy in U.S. Sunbelt

TORONTO, March 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - The Great Gulf Group ("Great Gulf") is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Westdale Real Estate Investment and Management ("Westdale"), a leading North American real estate company and with a leading global institutional investor with in excess of US$100 billion of net assets under management to source land opportunities, develop, build, own and operate dedicated build-to-rent single family housing communities in the U.S. Sunbelt through a new venture. The partners have committed an initial US$200 million of equity to the venture with the potential for an additional US$200 million equity commitment.

"We are very excited to have teamed up with two like-minded partners in order to capitalize on the demand for new purpose-built single family housing communities that we expect will continue to experience unprecedented growth particularly in the U.S. Sunbelt.  We believe this growing demand is largely driven by lifestyle and lifecycle changes by Millennials, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers, affordability and an increased trend of "renters by choice"- a trend that was further accelerated by the onset of Covid-19. The build-to-rent single family sector currently lacks in supply of modern purpose-built single family housing and our partners and we are well positioned to leverage our collective platforms and expertise. We expect the favorable demand-supply imbalance to continue in the near term with current annual demand estimated at over 250,000 newly built single-family rental homes compared to a current annual supply of approximately 50,000. Great Gulf is in a unique position to leverage its land sourcing, acquisition, development and home building capabilities both internally and via third-party home builders in order to develop a multi-market strategy across the U.S. Sunbelt."  said Ilias Konstantopoulos, CEO of the Great Gulf Group.

Great Gulf, via the venture, currently controls several build-to-rent single family communities that are under development and is targeting to develop and own in excess of 4,000 homes.

About Great Gulf 
The Great Gulf Group was established in 1975 and has become one of North America's leading real estate organizations with fully integrated activities that span the entire real estate spectrum. Through its various platforms including Ashton Woods and First Gulf, the Great Gulf Group develops, constructs and manages residential and commercial real estate across 18 cities and employs over 1,500 people in North America.  The Great Gulf Group has developed over 80,000 residences and 30 million square feet of commercial real estate over its 45-year history. Please visit www.greatgulf.com.

About Westdale
Westdale has owned, managed and developed real estate across North America for over 60 years. Westdale's Canadian portfolio includes approximately 7000 residential units and over 2.5 million square feet of retail, commercial and industrial spaces. In the US, Westdale owns and manages approximately 35,000 residential units in 150 properties and 30 cities, as well as 3 million square feet of retail and commercial space. Please visit www.westdale.com.

SOURCE Great Gulf Group