Unite swoops for Birmingham University accommodation scheme

Student accommodation group Unite has bought a University of Birmingham development as part of a £56m deal.

Unite Students Accommodation Fund has bought a 418-bed scheme in Selly Oak and a 222-bed development in Durham.

The purchases are in line with its strategy of targeting locations with high-ranking universities that have “a structural demand and supply imbalance”.

Most of the funding is coming from the sale of a 128-bed studio scheme in central London for £42m.

Unite’s group property director Richard Simpson said: “These transactions demonstrate our strategy of investing in new, larger and more efficient properties with cluster flat accommodation, available at a lower price point for students.

“We will continue to deploy funds from the disposals made at the start of the year to further improve the quality of the portfolio and to extend our highly accretive development programme in strong regional locations with top-ranked universities like Durham or Birmingham, where we see the most sustainable growth.”

The acquisitions are expected to generate a yield on cost of 6.3% in their first full year of operation.