Cortland Hires Owain Thomas as Senior Director of Development for European BTR Expansion

Cortland has appointed Owain Thomas as senior director of development for Europe, tasking him with leading the firm's build-to-rent expansion across the UK and Ireland, the company announced.

Thomas joins this month from Cheyne Capital, where he served as development director for five years with a focus on build-to-rent and purpose-built student accommodation. In his new role, he will lead Cortland's in-house development and design team and will be responsible for originating and delivering new BTR investments through ground-up development and forward funding deals.

£750M Harrison Street Joint Venture Sets the Stage

Thomas's appointment follows Cortland's recently agreed joint venture with Harrison Street to build a £750 million secured pipeline of BTR projects in the UK and Ireland. The first development under the platform is a 367-unit BTR scheme in Watford, known as Cortland Cassiobury, which is backed by Homes England and AIG Asset Management. That scheme also includes 119 affordable units forward sold to a registered provider, 5,150 square feet of retail space, 314 parking spaces, and 50 storage units.

Thomas's remit at Cortland encompasses the Harrison Street pipeline as well as flagship schemes in Greater Manchester, positioning him at the center of the firm's European capital deployment strategy.

A Specialist Hire for Pipeline Execution

Thomas brings direct experience managing joint venture-backed BTR rollouts and in-house construction programs at scale. At Cheyne Capital, his work spanned both BTR and purpose-built student accommodation development. His appointment to Cortland's in-house team signals the firm's intent to industrialize delivery across its growing UK and Ireland pipeline rather than rely solely on third-party development management.

Thomas was formally appointed a director of Cortland Development UK Limited in May 2022, a role that underscored his governance responsibilities within the firm's UK development arm during his tenure.

Cortland's European Platform in Context

Cortland entered the UK BTR market in 2017–2018 and expanded its operational presence in 2019 through the acquisition of LIV Group, a UK and Ireland BTR operator that brought approximately 2,000 units under management and a pipeline of roughly 7,000 units. At the time of that acquisition, Cortland outlined a target of a 10,000-unit UK portfolio representing approximately £4 billion in investment.

The firm's US multifamily platform provides significant institutional backing for its European ambitions. Cortland owns and manages tens of thousands of multifamily units across more than 20 US markets. A November 2025 co-investment alongside LaSalle into a 19-property, approximately 6,000-unit portfolio acquired for $1.6 billion illustrates the scale of capital Cortland continues to deploy in the US while simultaneously building out its European operations.

UK and Ireland BTR Market Backdrop

The UK build-to-rent sector has grown steadily but remains undersupplied relative to rental demand, particularly in major urban centers and commuter markets such as Watford and Greater Manchester. Ireland's rental pipeline has faced similar constraints. Cortland's decision to hire a dedicated senior development director for the region, backed by an already-secured £750 million joint venture pipeline, reflects the firm's commitment to scaling its European platform at a pace that requires dedicated in-house leadership.