Host and Partners Group create £1bn PBSA and co-living JV
Host and Partners Group, acting on behalf of clients, have formed £1bn UK student accommodation and co-living joint venture …
News Articles
AXO partners with Lavanda to power flexible living strategy
Provider of high-quality purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) – AXO Student Living (AXO) – appoints technology platform Lavanda as its exclusive partner to power its flexible living strategy. With sites across London, Coventry, Suffolk and Sunderland, AXO seeks to optimise the performance of its vacant or under-utilised units by tapping into strong short and medium-term rental demand – particularly outside the academic year over the summer period. The net result is that AXO is able to offer accommodation to students on more flexible 42-week leases – opposed to the traditional 52-week lease …
Xior Student Housing announces major next step in its international expansion
Xior Student Housing (“Xior”) makes a huge leap forward in its international expansion plan by signing an agreement with Basecamp Group (“Basecamp”), European Student Housing Fund I (“ESHF I”) and European Student Housing Fund II (“ESHF II”) to acquire a 939 MEUR² portfolio of attractive, high-quality, PBSA3 assets operated by Basecamp.
This unique portfolio consists of 5,341 units spread over 11 newly built, state of the art assets (8 operational and 3 projects under development). All residences are situated in top-tier student cities in Germany, Poland, Denmark and Sweden. Basecamp is a specialised developer and operator of student housing with objective to create smart student living spaces perfectly located to
universities …
Unite Students to dispose of 11 properties
Unite Students, the UK’s leading owner, manager and developer of student accommodation, today announces the disposal of a portfolio of 11 properties, comprising 4,488 beds for £306 million (Unite share: £236 million) to an affiliate of Lone Star Funds.
The disposal portfolio includes assets in Sheffield (1,700 beds), Reading (703 beds), Leicester (665 beds), Bedford (517 beds), Liverpool (390 beds), Birmingham (337 beds), Bristol (99 beds) and Leeds (77 beds), and has nomination agreements covering 46% of beds on short-term contracts. The disposal is part of the Group’s proactive portfolio management strategy, resulting in increased alignment to high and mid-ranked universities that deliver the greatest quality and value to students. It also sees the Group exit certain smaller, less operationally efficient assets in cities such as Bristol and Leeds.
The disposals are priced in line with prevailing book value, which reflects an NOI yield of 5.7%. The properties were treated as held for sale in the balance sheet as at 31 December 2021 and the disposal is incorporated into the Company’s guidance for EPRA EPS of 41-43p for the 2022 financial year, which remains unchanged …
The Unite Group – Final Results
RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021
Richard Smith, Chief Executive of Unite Students, commented:
“The business has seen a strong recovery in performance in 2021 and is well positioned for further growth due to our alignment to the strongest universities, an enhanced reputation thanks to our supportive actions during the pandemic and our best-in-class operating platform. We have ambitious goals for our environmental and social impact, as underlined by the recent publication of our pathway to net zero carbon by 2030.
“The outlook for the business and the UK Higher Education sector is strong, driven by rising participation rates, increased demand for our product from returning students, significant and sustained demographic growth and Government support for growth in international student numbers
“We have our biggest ever development pipeline and the balance sheet capacity to pursue new growth opportunities through university partnerships and targeted acquisitions. We are confident in our ability to attract more of the students currently living in the HMO sector and also see potential to extend our platform to cater to the growing number of young professional renters living in major UK cities. Together this underpins significant future earnings growth and attractive total returns for shareholders.” …
The Collective’s former assets set to list in £300m IPO
The assets of the collapsed co-living brand The Collective are set to float on the London Stock Exchange in a £300m initial public offering …
Confidence returns to UK student market
£72 billion UK student market sees development volumes and deal numbers bounce back as students return to campus.
Over 30,000 purpose-built student bedrooms were completed last year, more than double the 14,000 achieved in 2020 when the pandemic slowed construction. In total, these new additions lift the overall number of purpose-built student bed spaces in the UK to over 700,000.
A further 21,000 beds are estimated to be in the pipeline for delivery in time for the 2022 academic year. Once built, our calculations suggest this will take the total value of the UK student market to £72 billion …
BTR sector hits record level of investment
Build-to-rent (BTR) had its biggest year on record in 2021 as investors poured £4.1bn into the sector …
ASK4 joins forces with Spike Global to bring residents closer together
ASK4 has formed a strategic partnership with Spike Global, the leading property management and resident engagement software provider.
The partnership will mean that ASK4 is able to provide its clients with market leading property management and resident engagement technology solutions.
Spike has a proven track-record for delivering real, tangible results launching and operating property software worldwide. Spike’s resident engagement portals, Spike Living and Spike Student, can be white-labelled and completely tailored to the needs of each development, enabling building operators to create and manage thriving communities, where residents can form meaningful connections. Spike portals also allow residents to stay engaged with up-to-date news and events, book amenities, report maintenance issues, and even get involved with the wider local community by introducing them to local attractions and services …
Unite Students – Trading Update and Q3 Fund Valuations
Unite Students, the UK’s leading owner, manager and developer of student accommodation, today announces an update on current trading. We also provide quarterly property valuations for the Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund (‘USAF’) and the London Student Accommodation Joint Venture (‘LSAV’) as at 30 September 2021.
Richard Smith, Chief Executive of Unite Students, commented:
“We have seen record demand for UK universities from UK school leavers and non-EU students, particularly for the strongest universities to which we are strategically aligned, although higher grade attainment and restrictions around international travel as a result of the pandemic have impacted occupancy in a small number of cities. There remains a strong outlook for student demand driven by demographic growth, rising participation rates and increasing demand from non-EU markets. This underpins our confidence in a rapid recovery in earnings and total returns, driven by sustainable rental growth, our substantial development pipeline and further opportunities to deploy capital.” …