Singapore Press Holdings has snapped up a purpose-built student accommodation portfolio for £448m from Student Castle.
The city-state’s dominant newspaper publisher – which owns publications including Business Times and The Straits Times – is becoming a regular investor in UK student residences.
The portfolio, which is the second to be sold by Student Castle following a disposal to Liberty Living for £330m in 2015, comprises seven assets across seven leading UK university cities, with a total of 2,383 beds.
In total, 84% of beds in the portfolio are in Russell Group cities. There are five stabilised assets in York, Cambridge, Bath, Edinburgh and Durham and two development assets in Oxford and Brighton that are to be operational in 2020.
The portfolio is forecast to achieve 100% occupancy for 2019/20, providing a total gross income of £17.6m, increasing by 64% to £28.9m once the Oxford and Brighton sites open in 2020.
Student Castle was founded in 2010 by Edward Cade and Jacqui Hawthorn. The business owns schemes in Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, Bath and York.
See also: Singapore Press Holdings outlines UK PBSA strategy
Singapore Press Holdings is the latest in a cohort of prominent Singaporean investors, including Mapletree Investments and sovereign wealth fund GIC, to invest in UK purpose-built student accommodation.
In April, the firm added £133.7m of assets to its UK student accommodation portfolio. It entered into a sale-and-purchase agreement with Habitus Holdings, Privilege Holdings, Privilege Southampton Holdings and AIGGRE Europe Real Estate Fund I GP.
These assets are in Southampton, Sheffield and Leeds and have a total capacity of 1,243 beds.
Last year, the firm bought Unite Group’s Mayflower portfolio for £180m, which comprises 13 buildings and around 3,500 affordable student beds.
The assets are located in six towns and cities, including London, Huddersfield, Plymouth and Sheffield.
Savills advised Student Castle.
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