Invesco Real Estate has raised a £250 million fund to invest in the UK’s private residential sector, long-touted as an area of opportunity for institutional investors.

The real estate arm of the $776 billion US manager said five global institutional investors in Australia, Canada and the UK had contributed to the pot. It said the £250 million figure, which it reached in December 2015, marked the first close of its fund, with further closes planned over the next 12 months.