Campus Living close to sealing £240m Opal deal
CAMPUS Living Villages (CLV) has confirmed that it is the preferred bidder to buy eight former Opal student sites.
The acquisition will give CLV an extra 4,539 beds, more than doubling the size of its UK portfolio to 8,360.
It is buying the buildings from PWC which was one of four administrators appointed to Manchester-based Opal in March.
The eight blocks were valued at £300m when PwC first started the marketing process but CLV is understood to have agreed a deal for £240m.
Gary Clarke, CLV’s chief executive in the UK, said: “Our intended acquisition of these assets, together with our transaction pipeline, creates an exciting time for CLV. Delivering student accommodation is our sole business and we understand the international student hospitality market exceptionally well.
“The UK sector is currently in a state of transition in the way students make academic, social and accommodation choices and we are delighted to be at the forefront of this change with enhanced services and facilities. We are looking forward to transferring these properties into the CLV family, and supporting more students to achieve their social and academic aspirations.”
The buildings are: Phase two of Wilmslow Park in Rusholme, Manchester; Opal Court in Liverpool; Opal 2 and Opal 3 in Leeds; Opal 1, Birmingham; Opal 1, Newport; Bonington Halls, Nottingham; and MacMillan Student Village in Greenwich, London.
CLV, which has its headquarters in Australia, is also involved in the construction of a 1,367-bed scheme at the University of Salford. Its advisers on the Opal deal included law firm Osborne Clarke, David Wylde Project Finance, and property advisers Savills and Knight Frank.
