UK: Investment firm Cain International, in partnership with developer Olympian Homes, has acquired St James House in Bristol.
The site will be redeveloped to deliver coliving and PBSA over two buildings, rising to 28 storeys. One will house 132 larger coliving units, and the second will include student accommodation. RG Group has been appointed to deliver the scheme.
The St James House scheme will include around 15,000 square feet of amenity space, including a cinema room, fitness suite, study areas, a games room and group dining facilities. The development is targeting BREEAM Excellent and WiredScore Platinum certifications. The project is targeted for completion in time for the 2028/29 academic year.
Richard Simpson, CEO of Olympian Homes, said: “This prime PBSA Bristol development sale to Cain is an important step in delivering our growth strategy within the UK living sector. Olympian have successfully traded and grown over the last few years and are now a market leader in developing in the UK living space. Our recent focus has been in deepening our development pipeline with high quality opportunities which will deliver this growth strategy over the next few years. Our consistent track record of delivering high rise, high density living assets in city centres ensures we will continue to partner with global institutional capital in successfully delivering this strategy.”
Arvi Luoma of Cain International added: “Long-term partnerships are central to Cain’s investment approach, and we are pleased to once again collaborate with Olympian Homes to deliver another high-quality asset in a prime location.”
The site was formally home to a Premier Inn hotel and was sold to Cain International by Whitbread. The transaction bolsters Cain International’s portfolio in the living sector across both its equity and credit strategies. In 2023, the company arranged more than £425 million of financing across several projects in Europe including BTR, PBSA and care homes.
