The Pensions Infrastructure Platform (PiP) is teaming up with Arlington Advisors to invest in student housing in the UK.
PiP, an infrastructure investment platform for UK pension funds, has formed a strategic partnership with Arlington Advisors, to invest in accommodation situated on university campuses.
Arlington Advisors, which advises European and Middle Eastern investors, has invested more than £500m (€584m) in UK student housing in recent years.
The company said it will help PiP increase its exposure to the on-campus segment of the market.
It said universities are increasingly looking to bring in third-party investment and expertise to bring forward on-campus student accommodation schemes.
George Shweiry, founder and chief executive of Arlington Advisors, said: “We are continuing to see record levels of demand for high quality, appropriately priced and well-maintained student accommodation, and universities are increasingly recognising the value in partnering with professional investors and managers.”
Mike Weston, chief executive of PiP, said: “PiP is focused on core investment that delivers long-term, inflation-linked cash flows, and we see student accommodation as a key growth opportunity in this market that provides these attributes for UK pension schemes.
“Working with Arlington in this sector is an exciting opportunity to develop a unique, long-term offering for development of student accommodation in the UK.”
Arlington, which has invested in student housing with 7,800 beds across 10 UK cities, is shortlisted on over £300m of further acquisitions in the sector. Several of these potential acquisitions are on-campus assets.
Arlington acquired more than £250m of student housing assets in 2016 and it is working to increase the pace of investment in 2017 and 2018.
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