Aston Student Villages is to sell the entire Aston University residential assets in central Birmingham for more than £200m, in what will be the largest single asset transaction of student housing in the UK this year.
The registered charity, on behalf of Aston University in central Birmingham, will bring the Lewis & Hickey-designed scheme to market in the new year via joint agents Deloitte Real Estate and Knight Frank.
The university is selling the 3,067-bed, self-contained student accommodation complex to capitalise on the strength of the UK student housing market.
The scheme sits next to Aston University and is 100% let this academic year. The scheme was built in 2010 and has a forecast £16.6m gross annual income.
Chris Baldwin, partner and head of residential at Deloitte Real Estate, said: “The student housing investment market has transacted more than £5.7bn in the past nine months, compared with £1.5bn in 2014. This is a prime asset allowing any investor to capitalise on a thriving market.”
James Pullan, head of student property at Knight Frank, added: “This is a unique opportunity as it is the first time an upper quartile UK university has sold its entire residential stock. There’s a perception that a lot of student housing stock has already transacted or is transacting and that there will be a lack of stock in 2016 to sell, which I think is absolutely right. There are limited opportunities for institutional investors to acquire big-ticket lot sizes.”
The sale is likely to attract strong interest from institutions and global sovereign wealth funds, as well as from existing operators within the student housing sector.
Aston Student Village was voted number one in the UK and number 10 worldwide for best accommodation quality in 2014 by the International Student Barometer.
