Brookfield Appoints Board for Ursa Affordable Housing Venture
Brookfield has appointed three non-executive directors to Ursa Affordable Housing following its acquisition of WH Housing.
Ursa Affordable Housing has appointed three new non-executive board members following its acquisition by Brookfield. The appointments of Gordon More, Alexandra Notay, and Karen McElhatton come after Brookfield completed the purchase of WH Housing at the end of last month for an undisclosed sum.
Background of the appointees
Gordon More previously served as chief executive and chief investment officer at the government's housing agency, Homes England. He currently holds housing board roles at the Hyde Housing Group and the Housing Growth Partnership and served as an independent non-executive director of Sigma Capital Group.
Alexandra Notay brings more than 20 years of sector experience. She is chief executive of The Housing Forum trade body and previously served as placemaking and investment director at Thriving Investments. Notay chairs the Radix Big Tent Housing Commission and has advised the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Homes England on housing strategy.
Karen McElhatton spent six years as a non-executive director of The Hyde Group, where she chaired the Housing Services Board and subsidiary registered-provider boards. Her executive career includes senior technology and transformation roles at McLaren Group, Natura &Co and TJX Europe. Her responsibilities at Hyde included regulatory compliance, customer service, operations, acquisitions, and transformation.
Brookfield’s strategic move
Brookfield’s acquisition of WH Housing and its rebranding to Ursa Affordable Housing marks its formal entry into the UK affordable housing sector. The North American real estate giant is working with Sigma Capital Group as its operating partner. Dominic Williamson and Thomas Gatenby of Brookfield were also appointed as directors of the newly named entity.
The strategy is in its early stages, with Brookfield providing capital. Partners see a significant opportunity to bring long-term institutional capital and expertise to a sector with substantial need and constrained supply. WH Housing, incorporated in 2020, completed its registration with the Regulator of Social Housing as a for-profit provider in May 2026.
Context of Brookfield’s UK activity
Brookfield’s move into affordable housing adds to its growing UK real estate footprint and follows other major institutional investors. The company entered the market later than Blackstone, which has been active since 2017 through Sage Homes. BlackRock was invested in Heylo until earlier this year, when it appointed administrators to protect its capital.
Brookfield’s other UK holdings include a stake in Canary Wharf Group, which it owns jointly with Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, and the leisure chain Center Parcs. Earlier this year, Brookfield entered talks with private equity firm Castleforge to acquire London’s Citypoint tower for roughly the value of the outstanding debt secured against it. Last year, it bought a 1,300-home portfolio of houses in multiple occupation across six UK cities for use as student accommodation.
Operating partnership details
Sigma Capital Group will support Brookfield’s affordable housing ambitions by providing end-to-end services. The firm has been in the UK build-to-rent sector since 2014 and has delivered and contracted 13,100 homes, most of which are low-rise, single-family houses. It has £2.7bn of investment under management.
Sigma Capital Group said it "will provide a full range of services to Brookfield, from site origination through to lettings, sales and property management."
