Empiric Student Property Buys Site In Sheffield For GBP10.7 Million
Empiric Student Property PLC Friday said it has acquired Portobello House, a forward funded 134-bed new-build premium student accommodation development scheme in Sheffield for GBP10.7 million.
Empiric said it has acquired the freehold to the site, which is located in the heart of the University of Sheffield campus and within a 10 minute walk to the city centre and Sheffield Hallam University.
GHL (Portobello Road) Ltd, a joint venture between Visage Properties Ltd and Galliard Homes Ltd, will undertake the construction of the property on behalf of Empiric, it said, and is scheduled to be completed by July 2016, in time for the 2016/17 academic year.
Empiric said that the full amount required for the development will be invested in stages against development milestones, and that it will receive an income return from the developer on funds invested during the development period.
“”This forward funded project represents the company’s first investment in Sheffield, a popular city with students. The University of Sheffield has over 26,000 students with a significant proportion of postgraduate and overseas students and is ranked in the top 30 universities in the UK. Sheffield Hallam University has a large student population of over 33,000, a substantial proportion of whom are postgraduate. The site is ideally located and we expect the scheme to generate attractive returns in line with our stated investment parameters,”” Chief Executive Paul Hadaway said in a statement …