Student housing JV targets 10,000 beds in five years
Mayfair-based residential developer Southern Grove has teamed up with Bahraini investor Tadhamon Capital to launch a new student accommodation joint venture called Future Generation …
Partner wanted for £325m student accommodation pipeline
Crosslane Property Group (CPG) is hunting for a partner to put up £325m to forward-fund its entire student accommodation pipeline …
Henley buys student portfolio from CPPIB’s Liberty Living
UK private equity real estate investor Henley has bought three student housing assets from Liberty Living.
The firm said it paid £50m (€57.8m) for the portfolio from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board-owned sector specialist.
The combined properties, in Preston, Sheffield and Stoke, include 1,519 student rooms …
Mapletree closes US$1.3 billion private trust for student dorms
Mapletree Investments has closed a private trust to hold US$1.3 billion in student-accommodation assets in the UK and the US – a move that makes this not only the first such product in Singapore, but also the first of a series of private trusts for the group.
The Temasek unit is also aiming to launch Singapore’s first initial public offering (IPO) of student-housing assets when the portfolio grows to S$4-5 billion.
For a start, its private trust for the asset class – Mapletree Global Student Accommodation Private Trust (MGSA P-Trust) – will hold an 8,363-bed US portfolio of 10 assets, and a 5,910-bed UK portfolio of 25 assets …
Funds invest in student housing as prospects brighten
Higher enrollment in tertiary education has led to universities seeking private sector funding for residential facilities to house the next generation of students.
JLL estimates that students in higher education will increase from 165 million in 2011 to 263 million by 2025. The increasing enrollment comes from the growing number of parents from China and India who prefer to send their children to prestigious overseas institutions.
JLL reveals that in the past 18 months, a record €14.4 billion (US$15.5 billion) in new capital has been invested in the student housing sector as universities seek to partner with institutional investors to help transform facilities to cater to rising student intake. At the time of writing, GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, announced that its joint venture with Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board and The Scion Group had acquired three U.S. student housing portfolio for about $1.6 billion …
Student halls to kick start £200m Oxford scheme
The ‘Oxpens’ area, to the south of the city railway station, has been earmarked as a key development opportunity by the local council.
Student accommodation provider Student Castle has just secured planning for its 514-bed scheme on the western side of the site, bordering the railway line.
Student Castle has yet to appoint a builder but is understood to be planning to start work in 2018 …
Downing secures consent for £30m luxury student housing development in Aberdeen
Liverpool-headquartered property developer Downing has secured planning consent for a £30m luxury student scheme in Aberdeen.
The proposed development on John Street would introduce 374 bedrooms to the heart of the city centre and feature extensive communal facilities including a gym, a cinema, a lounge and study rooms.
The scheme has been designed by architect Fletcher Joseph Associates …
Have we reached saturation point?
The notion that key university towns are reaching “saturation point” with student homes, is becoming something of a recurrent issue in the regional press. However, according to research conducted by Student rentals platform, Studenttenant.com, demand for student accommodation is exceeding availability. David Campbell of Alumno dispels the growing mythology surrounding developing student accommodation and looks at the facts.
The Financial Times recently reported that the past two years has seen record investments into purpose-built student accommodation, meanwhile, consultancy firm EY has proposed that approximately nine university towns have reached or are nearing “saturation point”. It seems that not a week goes by when some large international investment company hasn’t committed millions of pounds in a UK portfolio of student housing. Equally there have been a good number of regional news stories quoting local residents’ unease at yet another student housing development in their neighbourhood …
Local resident pressure brings rethink over insensitive name for Durham student flats
A developer has decided to think again after the name of its new student accommodation scheme proved controversial with residents.
Universal Student Living planned to call its new block of purpose-built student accommodation in Durham “The Clink” – an historical reference to the time when the area was used as Durham County Penitentiary.
The development is on the site of Kepier House, off Gilesgate, used in the 19th Century as a home for “fallen women,” an institution which was entered voluntarily but had prison-like features …
Current supply issues in student accommodation in Ireland
In a recent report published by the Higher Education Authority, it was forecast that the unprecedented growth in higher education participation over recent years is set to continue.
Projections for the full-time demand for education developed by the Department of Education and Skills estimate that demand will increase from approximately 168,000 in 2014 to nearly 193,000 in 2024. Of course, not all of these will need access to bed spaces near their college of choice, but it is fair to assume that a considerable proportion will.
The market for student accommodation in Dublin in particular is undersupplied, which poses a significant issue, given that Dublin accounts for over 40 percent of all students in third level education in Ireland. Although there are a number of student residences coming to the market in 2017, there are currently only eight consented sites within the development pipeline, of which just four are actually on site …