UK/Singapore: Mapletree Investments is looking to sell a portfolio of 24 UK PBSA assets to secure returns for its investors.
The properties, reported be worth in the region of £450 million, are owned by a Mapletree-sponsored closed-end private fund. They are located in London, Lincoln, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester and Aberystwyth.
Matt Walker, CEO of student housing for Mapletree, said: “While the student housing sector continues to be a core sector for Mapletree, there is a need to explore the divestment of these assets in the fund to realise returns for our investors. Given heightened investment activities in the United Kingdom’s student housing market and an increasingly accommodative macro-economic environment, we have launched the sale process with a view to maximise returns for our fund investors.”
Mapletree is one of the largest owners of student housing in the UK with more than 17,000 beds, and is also active in the sector globally. In April it acquired 31 PBSA assets totalling 8,192 beds across the UK and Germany from Cuscaden Peak Investments for £1 billion.
The deal grew Mapletree’s student housing portfolio to more than 33,000 beds across 47 cities in the UK, the US, Germany and Canada, representing total assets under management of S$6.2 billion.
“Mapletree continues to remain positive on the student housing sector in the UK and will continue to grow our investment and development portfolios in the market,” said Walker.
In June, Mapletree sold a 894-bed student housing property in North Carolina to US residential operator and investment manager Timberline Real Estate Ventures for a reported $91 million. That asset had been held under the Mapletree Global Student Accommodation Private Trust, the firm’s sole PBSA-dedicated vehicle. Mapletree in 2017 raised $535 million for the fund, which at the time owned properties in the UK and US valued at $1.3 billion.
Other Singapore investors are also active in the UK PBSA sector. In August Far East Orchard closed its maiden private fund focused on the UK PBSA sector with commitments totalling £70 million.
In July, Q Investment Partners formed a £100 million UK student housing joint venture with Malaysian builder Gamuda Land to develop a 299-bed project in south-east London. And in December 2022, a joint venture between Singaporean sovereign fund GIC and Greystar acquired Student Roost, the UK’s third largest PBSA provider from Brookfield.
