Key Savills PBSA Transactions in last 12 months

September 17th 2018 - Posted by
Savills Student Accommodation Teams provide advice across the UK and Europe, including on acquisitions, disposals, M&A, JV equity raising
and structuring, financing and valuation in both the private and public sectors. We work closely with our clients to unlock opportunities,
maximise value and provide long-term solutions.
During the last 12 months, the Savills UK Team have traded over £2.9bn of student accommodation assets in a mix of trading stock, forward
funding transactions and sites equating to nearly 21,000 beds. Our representation in the market, which has included the disposal of the 5,407
bed Enigma Portfolio in Q1 2018, gives us unparalleled exposure to active capital from all over the world seeking to invest into the sector …

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SPH buying UK student housing portfolio for £180.5m

September 11th 2018 - Posted by

Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) has acquired a portfolio of 14 purpose-built student accommodation buildings across six towns and cities in the United Kingdom for about £180.5 million (S$321 million) cash, it announced early on Monday morning.

The buildings, acquired from the Unite Group, have a total capacity of 3,436 beds. They include 10 freehold assets and four leasehold assets, and are located in established university towns and cities with large full-time student populations, namely London, Birmingham, Bristol, Huddersfield, Plymouth and Sheffield.

SPH, which owns The Business Times, said that student accommodation in the UK has growth potential, with demand expected from both domestic and international students, driven by a rise in enrolment of first year, international and postgraduate students …

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University of Bristol among the world’s best for employability

September 11th 2018 - Posted by

Students at the University of Bristol are among the most employable in the world, a new league table has confirmed.

The QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2019 place Bristol at 47th in the world and 6th in the UK out of the 660 global institutions analysed.

As well as evaluating graduate employment rates, the rankings looked at the opinions of over 40,000 employers and evaluated nearly 200,000 work placement partnerships …

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GCP Student announces £55m placing

September 10th 2018 - Posted by

GCP Student has announced a placing to raise up to £55m.

GCP was the first student accommodation REIT to start trading on the London Stock Exchange in 2013 and now has a portfolio of 10 assets valued at £784.4m.

Since IPO the company has delivered an annualised return of 12.5%. The operational portfolio is fully let for the 2018/19 academic year …

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Unite disposes of 14 properties for £180.5 million

September 10th 2018 - Posted by

Unite Students, the UK’s leading manager and developer of student accommodation, announces the unconditional exchange of contracts for the disposal of 14 properties, comprising 3,436 beds for £180.5 million, of which Unite’s share is £84.7 million. The properties are being sold to Singapore Press Holdings and completion is due later in September 2018. The purchase price reflects a net initial yield of 6.3% and is marginally below book value.  

The portfolio is made up of a combination of wholly owned, USAF and LSAV properties located in Plymouth, Huddersfield, Sheffield, Birmingham, Bristol and London. As a result of the disposal, Unite no longer has a presence in Plymouth or Huddersfield and the efficiency and quality of the portfolio has been enhanced.  

The transaction is in line with Unite’s strategy to recycle capital through the disposal of assets with lower than average growth prospects and reinvest into developments increasingly focusing on high and mid-ranked universities, which have the best long-term growth prospects …

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BTR needs rocket fuel to make a real difference

September 7th 2018 - Posted by

Data from Savills and the British Property Federation on the growth of build-to-rent (BTR) sounds impressive. The latest figures from July showed there were 124,037 homes complete, under construction and in planning across the UK, up from 98,723 at the same point last year.

That’s quite some growth in 12 months, but it is becoming increasingly apparent that it is not enough to make up for the loss of rented homes caused by the government’s crackdown on the buy-to-let market.

Last month, the RICS warned of significant increases in rent in the absence of a step change in the delivery of BTR homes or government-funded social housing …

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Malaysia’s KWAP teams up with 90 North for drive into UK student homes

August 31st 2018 - Posted by

Malaysian fund Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP) has teamed up with 90 North Real Estate Partners to build a platform in the UK student housing market with the initial acquisition of a portfolio from IP Investment Management and Maven Capital Partners for £39.8m.

The portfolio of two newly developed purpose-built student accommodation assets totals 360 beds.
The Mill House in Edinburgh and 800 Bristol Road in Selly Oak, Birmingham are both fully operational and will offer a day one running yield.

It is KWAP’s first acquisition of a student housing portfolio in the UK and will it said provide a “platform for further investment in the rapidly growing sector” …

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Cork’s about to pop

August 30th 2018 - Posted by

Cranes have returned to Cork and judging by the number of projects in the development pipeline, they could become a fixture of the city’s skyline for years to come.

“Cork is at that point where it could grow exponentially, rather than incrementally,” says Isobel O’Regan, a director at Savills in Ireland, when asked about the growth potential of the country’s second city …

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“TigerLime then executed a detailed action plan, maintained excellent reporting with us throughout the process and were fundamental to achieving the sale of the accommodation schemes.”

Jamie Burns (Director) PwC