C anadian-owned firm Liberty Living has become the second largest provider of student accommodation in the UK after acquiring a gian...
Canadian-owned firm Liberty Living has become the second largest provider of student accommodation in the UK after acquiring a giant £460m portfolio of properties from Blackstone.
Liberty Living has bought the Union State portfolio, a group of properties comprising 13 student halls in cities such as Manchester, Birmingham and Sheffield.
With 25,000 beds, the company now only lags rival Unite in the student market, which has grown rapidly in recent years as universities struggle to build their own residences for an increasing number of applicants.
his latest purchase was funded by Liberty Living’s owner the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which since buying the firm in March 2015 has spent more than £800m expanding its holdings. The company has also sold six of its smaller student halls to fund the purchase.
David Shearer, Liberty Living’s executive chairman, said the company had “ambitious growth plans”.
The deal comes amid a busy couple of years for investment in the student property sector: 2015 was a record year in which transaction volumes hit £5.1bn, although deals in 2016 were worth slightly less.
There are now more students at UK universities than ever, with 1.7 million studying full time this year. Of those, around 60pc live away from home in either university-owned halls, private halls or rent through private landlords.
According to property agency Cushman & Wakefield, the number of purpose-built student bed spaces increased 5.4pc in 2016 compared to the previous year, hitting 568,000. There is particular demand in regional cities, where yields on investments are often better.
COMMENTS