Pretium Pulls Out of Potential UK Single-Family Rental Debut

Pretium is backing away from an expansion into the United Kingdom.

Don Mullen’s alternative asset manager walked away from discussions to acquire Sigma Capital Group from Oxford Properties Group and PineBridge Benson Elliott, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Acquiring Sigma would’ve cleared the path for Pretium to enter the single-family rental market in the U.K., a sector it’s already all over in the United States.

The potential acquisition was valued at $1.4 billion, according to Green Street News, which first reported the failed talks. Reasons for the deal’s collapse reportedly ranged from the economic uncertainty wrought by President Donald Trump’s tariffs to a disagreement on the sale price.

Sigma formed a partnership with EQT AB in 2020 to build 3,000 rental homes in the United Kingdom. The properties were set to be cumulatively valued around the same $1.4 billion price.

Last year, advisers for Sigma started looking to replace EQT as the partnership was expected to come to a close, according to Green Street. During that time, parties expressed interest in acquiring Sigma outright.

Pretium and PineBridge declined to comment, while Oxford said it was “committed” to its investment in Sigma, declining to comment any further.

Founded in 2012, Pretium boasts $57.4 billion of assets under management and owns and manages 94,000 single-family rental units.

Back in March, Pretium began raising money designated for the acquisition of single-family homes that can be rented affordably. It represented the first time Pretium raised a fund for the category.

Pretium made news in 2023 when it bought $1.5 billion worth of homes from D.R. Horton, a total of 4,000 properties largely in the Southeast and Southwest parts of the United States.

Investors are piqued by the single-family rental market in the United Kingdom. Last year, approximately $3.4 billion was poured into the sector, according to data from Savills.

There are 14,000 completed single-family homes and another 13,000 in the pipeline across the U.K., according to Savills.

— Holden Walter-Warner