Patron Capital has launched a new joint venture with Curation Capital. The joint venture will acquire and refurbish existing student properties located in towns and cities that are linked with Russell Group or tier-one universities.
The joint venture partners have acquired their first site, Beech Gardens, a 250-bed development in Birmingham. Located in the popular area of Edgbaston, the development benefits from close proximity to the city’s eight universities, including the University of Birmingham, a Russell Group university. Birmingham has a student population of more than 80,000 students.
The partnership will take a vertically integrated approach to the strategy, utilising Curation’s existing operational, development and asset management teams, combined with Patron Capital’s more than 20 years of experience investing in the UK real estate sector. Almero Student will manage the assets purchased by the investment vehicle. Founded in 2013, Almero currently offers a variety of affordable, well-managed quality accommodation to more than 800 students, with sites in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester, Leeds, and Exeter.
Keith Breslauer, Managing Director at Patron Capital, said: “We are pleased to enter the UK student accommodation market with our partner, Curation Capital. Despite the turbulence caused by the pandemic, PBSA has shown resilience, and recent figures from UCAS show that the number of applications for university places is up 8.5%, supported by the countercyclical benefits of higher education and an uncertain economic backdrop. We see significant opportunities in this market, particularly where value can be driven from refurbishment, additional development and targeted asset management.”
Michael Haverty, Founding Partner of Curation Capital, said: “We are delighted to have partnered with Patron Capital, who are philosophically aligned with us and bring a wealth of experience to our team. The relationship will allow us to build and create a high-quality portfolio of student assets located in Russell Group and tier 1 towns and cities. The Beech Gardens Birmingham acquisition offers a fantastic opportunity to own an asset in a top national student market. We intend to follow this up with further acquisitions throughout the next few years.”
