Unite, the largest manager of student housing in the UK, has exchanged contracts to sell eleven assets for £179mln, or a net initial yield of 5.8%. The properties are being sold in two separate transactions to Liberty Living, the student accommodation arm of Brandeaux Fund Management, and Swanbourne. In the larger of the two deals, Unite is selling nine properties, comprising 3,810 beds in Southampton, Cardiff, Preston and Stoke, for £152mln.
Unite, the largest manager of student housing in the UK, has exchanged contracts to sell eleven assets for £179mln, or a net initial yield of 5.8%. The properties are being sold in two separate transactions to Liberty Living, the student accommodation arm of Brandeaux Fund Management, and Swanbourne. In the larger of the two deals, Unite is selling nine properties, comprising 3,810 beds in Southampton, Cardiff, Preston and Stoke, for £152mln.
'These sales, at prices above the December 2007 valuations, provide strong evidence of the resilience of the student accommodation sector at a time when more general property values are under significant downward pressure,' said Mark Allan, Chief Executive of Unite.
Unite said that the sales are consistent with the group's strategy of focusing its capital and operations in larger and high-growth markets, notably London.
