For decades, as some of the biggest names in US real estate built empires of rental apartment buildings, the business in the UK mostly was limited to mom-and-pop landlords with no more than a few dozen units each, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Now, major global institutions are jumping into the game as UK living habits change and investors search for higher yields in an ageing bull market in commercial real estate. Demand for rentals also is increasing as shortages of affordable housing become more acute in the UK, matching markets in other parts of Europe and the US