Toronto-based Starlight Investments has raised £680 million for its second U.K. build-to-rent fund and related investment vehicles, giving the Canadian manager fresh capital to expand a residential platform it launched in Britain six years ago.

Starlight UK BTR Fund II will support the acquisition and delivery of more than 6,000 rental homes, with three projects totalling about 1,500 units already under construction in Manchester and Basildon.

The pipeline includes a 492-home development in Basildon and two Manchester communities that will deliver more than 1,000 apartments.

Starlight entered the U.K. market in 2020 and had grown its platform to about 4,000 homes and £1.1 billion of assets under management by May.

The fund also received a £100-million commitment earlier this year from Homes England’s newly created National Housing Bank. The government-backed bank has been given a mandate to deploy as much as £16 billion over the next decade and attract more than £50 billion of private investment into housing and regeneration.

“The successful close of Fund II reflects the strong institutional conviction behind Starlight’s UK residential strategy,” said Raj Mehta, president of global markets.

Starlight now has 12 U.K. rental communities spanning development, construction, leasing and operations, with a focus on regional cities and London commuter markets.

Pictured: Starlight Investments is developing a 492-home build-to-rent community in Basildon.