SPH buys UK student dorm portfolio for $237m

The portfolio spans three cities and has a total capacity of 1,243 beds.

Singapore Press Holdings’ (SPH) wholly-owned subsidiaries, Straits Five, Straits Six and Straits Eight, have acquired a portfolio of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) assets in the UK for a cash consideration of approximately $237m (GBP133.7m), an announcement revealed.

The group purchased the assets from Habitus Holdings, Privilege Holdings, Privilege Southampton Holdings and AIGGRE Europe Real Estate Fund I GP.

The portfolio spans three cities, comprising Southampton, Sheffield and Leeds, and has a total capacity of 1,243 beds. The accommodations reportedly enjoy strong occupancy rates in excess of 90%. 

“The portfolio comes with a rental guarantee that covers the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 academic years. This provides earnings visibility as SPH integrates the assets into its current portfolio of PBSA managed assets,” SPH highlighted.

Adding to the recent acquisition of 380 beds in Lincoln and Glasgow, SPH’s PBSA portfolio has a total capacity of over 5,000 beds across 20 assets in 10 cities. The firm’s assets under management (AUM) is reportedly in excess of $600m.

According to the firm, a community portal is also being developed for the 2019/2020 academic year, supported with backend business processes and booking systems.