Greystar inks €150m student resi deal in London

US apartment specialist Greystar has completed the acquisition of London's Assam Place, home of the Hult International Business School, from UK consultant and construction firm Mace for £110 mln (€150 mln).

Located in Aldgate in the heart of the City of London, Assam Place is a self-contained campus comprising three buildings which include 346 student residential rooms and 3,513 m2 of university teaching accommodation.

Mace’s involvement in Assam Place started in 2010, initially via the land acquisition of the site following a successful planning application. Mace then redeveloped and refurbished the part-listed building which was fully occupied in September 2012.

'There was a lot of interest when we first put the development for sale on the open market and I’m delighted that we’ve found an ideal buyer with Greystar,' said Mace chief operating officer for investment, David Grover. 'This was a perfect project for Mace investment giving us the opportunity to develop, construct, let, and then sell the asset, which allows us to reinvest the capital into future projects.'

Earlier this year Greystar acquired Nido London's high-end student accommodation portfolio for about £600 mln (€847 mln). The 2,375-unit portfolio comprised three premium student housing assets in London’s King’s Cross, Notting Hill and Spitalfields.