GIC and Greystar Real Estate Partners have formed a joint venture which has signed an agreement to acquire Student Roost, the U.K.’s third-largest purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) provider from one of Brookfield’s real estate private funds. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022 and is subject to customary closing conditions.
Student Roost’s high-quality portfolio comprises over 23,000 beds with a secured development pipeline of approximately 3,000 further beds covering key U.K. university cities, many of which are home to prestigious Russell Group institutions. Student Roost is well-positioned to benefit from strong demand growth in the leading U.K. higher education accommodation market.
Lee Kok Sun, Chief Investment Officer of Real Estate, GIC, said: “GIC is pleased to invest in Student Roost, U.K.’s third-largest student accommodation platform. We are confident that Student Roost will continue to offer high-quality purpose-built student accommodation with good occupancy rates at a competitive rental price point which attracts demand from both local as well as international students.”
Tracy Stroh, Region Head of Europe, Real Estate, GIC commented: “We expect student enrolment to grow over the longer term. This will boost demand for well-located, purpose-built student accommodation. We look forward to working closely with Greystar and Student Roost to deliver value-add such as refurbishing the existing assets to continue offering attractive student accommodation in a competitive market.”
Mark Allnutt, Senior Managing Director – Europe, Greystar, said: “We are thrilled to welcome the Student Roost team to Greystar. This acquisition adds to our portfolio of over 120,000 student beds globally. We have been active investors, developers and managers of student housing in the UK since 2013, through our ownership in IQ until 2020, Chapter Living and the recently launched Canvas brand. GIC are one of our most important global investment partners and we are excited to extend our partnership to the UK and in student housing, which given the fundamentals, is one of our highest conviction investment strategies globally.”
Brad Hyler, Managing Partner and Head of Brookfield’s European real estate business said: “Over the past six years, we have invested to transform Student Roost from a small portfolio of externally- managed assets, into one of the U.K.’s largest PBSA providers with fully integrated operations, growth, sales and marketing capabilities. In partnership with Student Roost’s high-quality management team and founder Tim Butler, Student Roost is now a brand that appeals to a diverse and growing student base.”
Nathan Goddard, CEO of Student Roost said: “We are proud of what we have built at Student Roost and the high-quality facilities and services that we offer our students. We are grateful to Brookfield for our partnership, and we look forward to working with GIC and Greystar as we continue to expand our portfolio and deliver an outstanding experience for our residents.”
