UK REIT Empiric Student Property has acquired the freehold of a 127-bed student accommodation property in Leeds for £17.8 mln (almost €23 mln) excluding costs.
Pennine House was developed by the current management of Empiric, prior to the formation of the specialist REIT, on behalf of the vendor, British Airways Pension Trust, in time for the 2013/14 academic year.
The property comprises 127 beds in a mix of studios and two-bed en-suite apartments across eight floors together with communal facilities including a gym, cinema room, study rooms and a common room. The property also includes a ground floor and basement commercial unit currently let to Living Ventures, trading as Gusto, one of fifteen Italian bar/restaurants in the UK, on a lease extending to 2041, with five yearly rent reviews, commencing in March 2021.
The property is located on Russell Street, between Leeds train station and the two main universities, the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University, both of which are within 10 minutes' walk. It is also a short walk to one of Empiric's other Leeds assets, Algernon Firth. This asset will continue to be managed by Collegiate, alongside the group's other Leeds assets, Algernon Firth and St Mark’s Court, both of which are already nearly fully let for the 2016/17 academic year.
