Investec Real Estate has provided Global Student Accommodation (GSA) with an £85m loan to refinance and partially refurbish five purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) assets in the UK.
The properties, located in London, Lincoln, Newcastle, Nottingham, and Sheffield, offer a total of 1,460 beds and are managed by GSA’s operating partner, Yugo. Refurbishment efforts will focus on enhancing bedrooms and communal spaces to cater to the needs of today’s students and support their wellbeing during their university experience.
The UK student accommodation sector witnessed a record £7.2bn investment in 2022, a 69% year-on-year increase and significantly higher than the previous five-year average of £4.1bn.
There are an estimated 95,000 new bed spaces in the planning pipeline, which will not meet the demand of the additional 263,000 full-time undergraduates anticipated between now and 2030.
Investec passed the £1bn student accommodation lending milestone in 2022, having funded 22,000 beds across 55 schemes in 23 UK cities since 2011. This marks Investec’s first deal with GSA, a global leader in PBSA with a presence in 70 of the world’s leading educational cities and active in nine countries.
Sebastian Walley, Investec Real Estate, said: “We will continue to fund PBSA schemes in those cities where the demand dynamics remain compelling, reflecting our conviction in the sector’s long-term outlook due to its structural undersupply, demographic tailwinds and defensive characteristics in this inflationary environment. GSA is a world-renowned player in the PBSA space and we look forward to supporting them on future opportunities.”
John Jacobs, global head of capital markets at GSA, added: “I am delighted to have formed this new relationship with Investec. Completing this refinancing amidst challenging market conditions demonstrates lenders’ confidence in the strength and resilience of the PBSA sector and their continued appetite to support high quality, stable portfolios with experienced owners and operators. I look forward to continuing to work with the Investec team as we implement our growth strategy in the UK.”
