Student property portfolio sale to raise £295m

Student accommodation developer Unite Students is disposing of £295m-worth of properties, including a site in Birmingham.

The portfolio of sites, which also includes properties in Bournemouth, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool and York, provides a total of 4,175 beds.

Unite is selling to a Brookfield-managed fund, with completion of the sale set for the next quarter.

Unite said it was part of its strategy to fund its development pipeline, in which it will “recycle” up to £200m of assets during 2017.

Unite’s share from the portfolio sale will be £102m, and the proceeds will be used to fund Unite’s 3,100 bed acquisition at Aston University in Birmingham which it announced last week.

Richard Smith, chief executive of Unite Students, said: “This sale is an important part of our strategy to recycle capital to fund our ongoing investments, focused on the strongest university towns and cities, where we have deep university relationships and where we can provide the best accommodation and services for our students. Our development pipeline supports further earnings growth as we continue to invest in strong student markets.”