£500m deal to bring forward major Nottingham student scheme
Cain International, the privately held investment firm, has completed a £500m PBSA forward-funding deal that will support the delivery of 2,389 beds across major UK university cities – including Nottingham.
The transaction sees Israeli insurance group Menora Mivtachim Group invest in Cain’s existing UK PBSA platform with developer Fusion Group, alongside a new development partner, Olympian Homes. The transaction marks Menora’s first direct investment into a UK PBSA strategy.
Nottingham City Council’s planning bosses gave the nod to the Fusion Students plans back in 2021. It is now expected to be complete by Q3 2025. Cain and Fusion will deliver a nine-storey asset in multiple connected blocks, consisting of 552 student rooms. It will also have 9,000 sq ft of amenity spaces.
The scheme is designed by Corstorphine and Wright.
The site is on the junction of Glasshouse Street, Lower Parliament Street and King Edward Street and previously housed a number of office buildings with surface parking.
The student accommodation will be eight storeys in the south east of the site, and then the building steps up to nine storeys towards Huntingdon Street to form the residential part of the development.
Financing was for the deal was provided by an affiliate of Apollo Global Management.
Richard Pilkington, senior MD and head of European real estate at Cain International, said: “This is an important milestone for our ‘beds’ strategy and further demonstrates our confidence in the sector’s attractive fundamentals and potential for growth with reputable developers. With over 350,000 beds needed nationally to meet the expected demand across the U.K.’s largest university cities, we believe there is significant opportunity in this market and look forward to delivering and expanding on our strategy through new and existing partnerships.”
Daniel Harris, senior MD and head of european investment at Cain International, said: “A transaction of this scale not only underlies our confidence in the fundamentals of the sector, but the strength of our relationships and expertise of our partners. We’re delighted to be working with Menora on its first U.K. PBSA transaction, and with Apollo as a lending partner, both adding great depth to Cain’s platform.”
Nir Moroz, CIO Menora Mivtachim, said: “The international appeal of the U.K.’s universities, combined with a supply-and-demand imbalance and opportunity to partner with reputable developers, made this forward funding deal a compelling opportunity to enter the U.K. PBSA market. We look forward to further building our relationship with Cain as these assets reach completion.”
Mark Slatter chairman of Olympian, said: ‘To secure backing from leading investors is a testament to the strong fundamentals of the student market. We look forward to working with Cain, its investment partners and the local councils as we deliver these landmark developments. ‘
Cain International was advised by Cushman & Wakefield, Colliers, Herbert Smith Freehills and Allen & Overy. Olympian Homes was advised by JLL, Menora was advised by Greenberg Traurig, Apollo was advised by Gibson Dunn, and Fusion was advised by Mishcon De Reya.
