United Apartment Group just missed the most recent National Multifamily Housing Council Top 50 managers list after appearing on the previous nine lists. If CEO Tim Settles and President Loyal Proffitt have their way, the San Antonio-based firm will be on the NMHC’s annual list in future years.
UAG, which has 32,237 units under management, is eyeing 35,000 by year-end and 50,000 by 2030 as it aims to move into new markets to meet client needs and enter its next phase of growth.
“Historically, as we've grown the company, it's really been organically — existing clients, broker referrals, and things of that nature,” Settles, founder and CEO of UAG, told Multifamily Dive.
To get there, it brought in two well-known industry veterans in September, hiring Woody Stone as chief growth officer and Lenzie O’Connor as vice president of client services and strategy, according to a press release. Further, the 31-year-old apartment operator is also seeking merger-and-acquisition opportunities to fuel its growth strategy.
Meeting partner client needs
In 2020, Brixton Capital acquired a majority interest in UAG. The Solana Beach, California-based private real estate investment company is the engine behind UAG’s growth goals, according to Proffitt.
“They [Brixton] want to scale their portfolio on the acquisition side of things, but also want the management company to expand its footprint,” Proffitt said. “It's not only about growing in number of units.”
Instead, the bigger driver is expanding the number of markets UAG operates in so it can better serve existing clients as they continue to buy deals, while also managing Brixton’s growing portfolio.
“We've got clients that are in other markets,” Proffitt told Multifamily Dive. “As we grow the portfolio, that creates opportunities for our associates to be able to move to other markets to be able to be promoted.”
While UAG will continue to “mine for clients,” it's also interested in buying other management firms in the 3,000- to 10,000-unit range to scale, according to Proffitt. Currently, the company has a sizable footprint in Texas.
“We'd like to go into Charlotte, [North Carolina],” Proffitt said. “We'd like to get into Denver. We'd like to get into Phoenix, Vegas and deeper into Atlanta, deeper into Nashville and deeper into Florida. In some ways, we can do that by buying other management companies.”
Over the years, a number of ownership groups have added management platforms. But some of those companies decide to jettison operations due to the difficulty finding employees or not having the economies of scale, Proffitt said.
“They end up spending a lot of time on the management side of things and not buying deals or not raising money,” Proffitt said. “They end up just kind of kicking out because they can't make it work. We're definitely in the market for some groups like that.”
Stone, O’Connor add decades of experience
Stone, with 25 years in the industry, is no newcomer in property management leadership circles. He previously served as president of Multifamily Asset Services for Cushman & Wakefield, where he provided strategic oversight for its management platform with approximately 180,000 units, per the release.
Before then, he was at Pinnacle, which Cushman & Wakefield bought in 2020, holding a variety of roles. After Cushman, he founded Stone Advisory Group, where he advised private equity firms, institutional multifamily organizations and proptech companies.
At UAG, Stone will lead national business development and expand the firm’s relationships with owners and investment partners. He will also work with company leadership on technology and innovation initiatives, including the use of artificial intelligence, per the release.
“Woody has broad experience both running companies, as well as growing companies and merging companies,” Proffitt told Multifamily Dive. “As we're trying to expand our footprint and improve the quality of our assets that we manage, we felt like it [adding him] was kind of a no-brainer and something that was a game changer for us in expanding our portfolio.”
O’Connor, who has nearly two decades of experience in apartment operations, is no stranger to Proffitt and UAG COO Tracie Yoder, having worked with both at Riverstone before it was bought by Greystar in 2014.
O’Connor spent more than 14 years with Greystar, where she most recently served as director of national client services. She was the relationship lead for a major client portfolio with approximately 31 assets and more than 10,000 units.
At UAG, O’Connor will strengthen client relationships and help the company’s service and operational capabilities keep pace with its growing portfolio, per the release. She will use analytics and operational insights to identify opportunities and support property performance.
“She'll not only help with the new business side, but she's going to help with our existing business and with technology and AI,” Settles told Multifamily Dive. “She has a real aptitude for that kind of stuff.”
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