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Two separate US investors have bought student halls from Opal, the distressed student accommodation provider.

New-York based investment house Avenue Capital Group has acquired a portfolio of five Opal Student Accommodation companies, which own three student accommodation buildings, a private rental building and a land asset.The portfolio caters to 1,800 students based in Sheffield and Nottingham.

Property Week reported that Avenue paid between £80 million and £90 million. The sale process was undertaken by Savills.

The news follows the sale of another Opal portfolio to US student housing provider Greystar Real Estate Partners, in partnership with Goldman Sachs …

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Plans to turn a historic Liverpool building into a hotel have been ditched in favour of converting it into student flats.

Hahnemann House, in Hope Street, was set to become a “boutique hotel” as part of plans drawn up by developer Maghull Developments.

But despite having planning permission for the venture, the company decided that the hotel market in the city is “saturated” and have decided to go for student accommodation instead …

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A landmark Liverpool church will be turned into student flats after councillors gave plans the go-ahead.

St Cyprian’s, off Edge Lane, has been empty since 2006 and  became derelict during  housing clearances in the area.

Liverpool City Council’s planning committee yesterday backed a developer’s proposal to turn it into student accommodation and to build a five-storey extension on to the side – creating 118 flats …

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Embattled property fund house Brandeaux has admitted the net asset value on its suspended £900m Student Accommodation fund is likely to be 4% less than anticipated, while the £92m Ground Rents fund will lose 5% of its NAV.

Brandeaux is trying to sell 80% of the property in the Ground Rents fund in a bid to free up liquidity for investors, but said in an update expected proceeds of the sale would be less than the fund’s most recent valuations had indicated.

The group is in the advanced stages of three sales for the Ground Rents fund which it expects to complete next month …

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Work to build 260 new student flats on Friargate will begin before the end of the year.

Portergate Property Management had plans approved in June to demolish buildings on the corner of Great Shaw Street and create new shops and accommodation.

A statement on the company website says they hope the en-suite appartments will cash in on a boom in postgraduate numbers in the city …

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Could this be the best-ever student living location – right at the end of the queue for Oceana?

Up to 60 students could move into Old London Road if an application for a new block of flats is approved.

The five-storey building would stand at the end of Kingston’s oldest shopping street, opposite the Wilkinson store …

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A proper strategy for student accommodation in Chester must be drawn up urgently for the good of the city, it has been claimed.

Chester has been deluged with developers looking to cash-in on the growing popularity of the University of Chester.

Cestrians are divided on the need for more student accommodation and there has been intense debate over whether students should be housed in the city centre or out of town …

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Student property company Ziggurat is celebrating completion of its maiden development in Edinburgh’s Cowgate having just sold 90% of the equity in the scheme to a private investor in a deal valued in excess of £6m.

Ziggurat was founded in 2009 by Jim Pike and Matt McAdden to bring together their development expertise and operational skills in the student accommodation sector and create quality investment opportunities for a range of investors.

The company has now completed a restructuring of equity in its 65 bed student scheme, Wellgate House in Edinburgh’s Cowgate, with founders Jim Pike and Matt McAdden retaining a 10% interest in the building …

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One of America’s largest student housing operators has entered the UK market after buying a large portfolio of assets from the collapsed Opal Group for £300 million.

Greystar Student Living, in partnership with the investment bank Goldman Sachs, has exchanged contracts to buy 21 student accommodation schemes previously managed by Opal.

The deal marks Greystar’s debut in the UK’s student accommodation sector …

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Students paying £9,000 fees may be socialising less and working more than their counterparts under the lower-fee regime, new research suggests. According to the National Student Housing Survey 2013, which polled more than 20,000 students between February and May, only 54 per cent of students said they enjoyed socialising in their accommodation compared with 62 per cent last year.

Only 63 per cent of students said they had formed close friendships in accommodation compared with 67 per cent in 2012, while just 36 per cent said there was a strong sense of community among students – down from 43 per cent last year.

The survey supports anecdotal evidence that the 2012-13 cohort of students, the first to be charged fees of up to £9,000, are more focused on their studies than those in previous years given the higher individual investment in their education …

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