King Sturge seals two student housing deals worth EUR 240m

As the new academic year begins across Europe, property adviser King Sturge has said it was involved in two student housing deals with a combined value total of EUR 240 mln. In the first transaction, King Sturge acted for fund manager Liberty Living in the EUR 190 mln acquisition of student properties from Unite Group; these represent 3,180 beds in nine purpose-built student halls in the UK cities of Southampton, Cardiff, Preston and Stoke.

'The acquisition is the second largest deal in the UK student sector in the past five years; the largest was the EUR 238 mln sale on behalf of Moorfield in 2006, on which we also worked,' commented King Sturge's Philip Hillman.

In the other deal, King Sturge acted for City University in London in a EUR 49 mln sale of two student residences to Liberty Living. The deal is for 541 student beds in Islington, North London.

Hillman added: 'These transactions reinforce the fact that student accommodation is proving its resilience in times of financial turbulence. It has become a recognised asset class and is continuing to out-perform most traditional property assets.'

Hillman heads King Sturge's 15-strong student housing group. King Sturge said it believes the UK's 325,000 student beds will continue to attract levels of investment far in excess of other traditional property classes. Ever-increasing university admissions and growing interest from private sector and overseas investors mean that student housing remains a lucrative asset class. King Sturge said it expects London to be the most strategic location in the UK as rents in the capital have risen by 10% in the last year and demand far exceeds supply. It is also expected that re-development will be the most dynamic part of the sector as opposed to new build.