Moorfield Group has sold two purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) schemes, totalling 789 beds, to a joint venture established between Ares Management funds and Generation Partners LLP.
Hox Park, located in Egham, Surrey, provides state-of-the-art accommodation to students of Royal Holloway, University of London, which was recently ranked a Top 25 University by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide. Developed by Moorfield in partnership with Royalton Group and opened in September 2018 under its Domain brand, it features 499 student beds, comprising a mix of studios and en-suite apartments. Set within 67 acres of parkland which overlooks the River Thames, Hox Park offers students a high level of amenities, including a private gym and wellness centre, parcel lockers, café space, car parking facilities and a dedicated social and study hub, Hox Haus.
The Toybox is a 290-bed campus-style scheme located in central Birmingham. Developed by Moorfield in partnership with Torsion Group and opened in September 2019, the scheme offers a mix of ensuites and studio apartments and is supplemented by modern, high-quality amenities, including communal spaces, an on-site gym and a wellness studio, automated parcel lockers and ultrafast fibre-optic Wi-Fi. The Toybox benefits from its close proximity to the city’s leading educational institutions, including the University of Birmingham, Birmingham City University, University College, Newman University College and Aston University.
These assets will be added to the Here! Student Living brand that currently sits over the joint venture’s six existing operational assets in Cardiff, Exeter, Glasgow, Dublin, and Galway, all of which are fully occupied for the 2021/2022 academic year and are letting quickly for next year.
Ross Netherway, Head of Origination at Moorfield Group, commented: “Moorfield was the first-mover investor into student accommodation in 1997 and it remains a conviction call today as it is so closely aligned to evolving demographic and societal trends. These disposals conclude two successful investments on behalf of our Fund III and Fund IV, enabling us to crystalise attractive returns on behalf of our investors, as we focus on deploying the capital raised for our latest value-add strategy.”
Wilson Lamont, Partner and Co-Head of European Real Estate Equity in the Ares Real Estate Group, commented: “Student accommodation is a key growth sector for Ares. We believe that these two assets offer strong entry points into two attractive university markets and that they fit in well within our strategy.”
Alan Artus, Chief Executive of Generation Partners, added: “We are excited to add the Hox Park and Toybox assets to the growing Ares Generation portfolio. Both buildings are highly specified and are serving undersupplied markets where we anticipate student demand will continue to grow.”
