UK: Legal & General (L&G) has acquired a PBSA scheme in Edinburgh’s Fountainbridge area for more than £35 million.
The Lower Gilmore Place asset has been acquired off-market by L&G’s Managed Fund from Glencairn Properties. Knight Frank acted for the buyer, while Ryden represented the vendor.
The Managed Fund is the largest open-ended balanced pension fund within L&G’s Asset Management division and has acquired almost £500 million worth of assets in 2024.
The development, which overlooks Edinburgh Union Canal, consists of 151 student beds split over two phases.
The first, 8 Lower Gilmore Place, comprises 69 beds and achieved practical completion during the summer of 2023. Phase two has been forward funded and will provide a further 82 student beds upon completion.
Glencairn Properties assembled and developed the site and has been retained to deliver its second phase.
Rob Codling, senior fund manager at L&G, said: “This is the first direct-let PBSA acquisition for L&G’s Managed Fund and is a fantastic opportunity to acquire a prime scheme in central Edinburgh. PBSA and operational real estate sectors continue to be a key growth area for the fund and this acquisition enables the fund to benefit from operational income as well as acquiring a best-in-class, newly developed scheme.”
Daryl Teague, managing director of Glencairn Properties, added: “Having started the site assembly in 2017, I am proud – after a long journey – to sell our Lower Gilmore Place development to L&G. PBSA has been, and will continue to act as, a catalyst for regeneration in the Fountainbridge area, bringing life to once industrial uses. Focusing on the living sectors, Glencairn has delivered an institutionally prime PBSA development, offering peaceful canal-side living a skimming stone away from the city centre. We would like to thank our team at Brodies and Ryden, along with Knight Frank and L&G, for pulling this over the line in record time.”
