Alternative real estate asset manager Cain International will acquire and redevelop St James House in partnership with UK-based real estate developer Olympian Homes.
The St James House project, set to become Bristol's tallest building at 28 stories, will deliver 574 student beds and will increase the total gross development value of Cain's PBSA equity platform to approximately £800 mln (E962.6 mln). This expansion will bring the total number of PBSA beds delivered by Cain across the UK to 3,000, following the completion of five PBSA assets in 2023.
St James House will consist of two towers: one featuring 442 student beds and the other offering 132 larger co-living units. It will include approximately 1,393 m2 of amenity space, such as a cinema room, fitness suite, study areas, games room, and group dining facilities. St James House is targeting BREEAM Excellent and WiredScore Platinum certifications and is expected to be completed by the 2028/29 academic year. RG Group has been appointed as the development contractor.
Oliver Cummings, managing director, head of PBSA, Europe at Cain, commented: ‘Home to two major universities, Bristol has seen consistent growth in student numbers to c.70,000 in 2023 representing c.10% of the resident population. Securing an asset in such a central location with convenient transport links positions us well to meet the strong demand while reinforcing our commitment to delivering high-quality well-amenitised PBSA developments in Russell Group university cities.’
Arvi A.I.Luoma, European Real Estate Equity at Cain, said: ‘This development is a key step in expanding our footprint in the PBSA sector, a core vertical of our specialist European investment strategies. We believe the European PBSA market presents substantial growth potential, and this transaction aligns with our goal of delivering over 10,000 beds across key European university cities.’
Richard Simpson, CEO at Olympian, commented: ‘This prime PBSA Bristol development sale to Cain is an important step in delivering our growth strategy within the UK living sector. Our recent focus has been in deepening our development pipeline with high-quality opportunities which will deliver this growth strategy over the next few years.’
St James House is located in the heart of Bristol, providing access to both the University of Bristol's main campus and the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus. Additionally, the development offers direct transportation links to the University of the West of England and national rail services at Bristol Temple Meads station.
HSF and Colliers represented Cain on the transaction, while Olympian was supported by JLL PBSA advisory.
