UK: Real estate credit and investment manager Zenzic Capital has launched a UK PBSA strategy with a target portfolio GDV of more than £500 million.
The strategy has been seeded with the acquisition of five schemes with a GDV of more than £147 million through a joint venture with Torsion Group. The JV is targeting a portfolio of at least £250 million GDV across seven schemes.
Two of the schemes, in Leeds and Nottingham, are newly built and fully let, and the other three, in Warwick, Nottingham and Leeds, will be delivered in time for the start of the 2025/26 academic year. Once complete, the assets will offer 817 beds in total and will be operated by Torsion-owned LUNA Students.
Nadine Buckland, CEO of Zenzic Capital, said: “The UK student accommodation sector is underpinned by a number of highly attractive tailwinds including growing student numbers, an acute shortage of high-quality supply and an inflation-protected income profile that enhances returns for our investors against a challenging wider macroeconomic backdrop. We have already established a strong track record in the PBSA market, and this strategy enables us to increase our exposure to a sector that is one of our most compelling conviction calls. As part of this strategy, we look forward to building on our longstanding relationship with Torsion through this joint venture as we work together to deliver a best-in-class, sustainable product that meets the needs of modern students.”
Dan Spencer, CEO of Torsion Group, added: “Having worked with Nadine Buckland, CEO at Zenzic Capital for over eight years, I am excited to form a joint venture and partner with them in the delivery of this current pipeline. Our strong relationship with Zenzic made forming the joint venture seamless, and we look forward to doing many more deals together. The partnership gives us a strong foundation to scale and accelerate our growth in the PBSA sector. We are actively taking measures to reduce our embodied carbon emissions on all our developments. That is because sustainability remains at the forefront of our strategy and decision-making as we look to play a leading role in delivering decarbonisation across the construction sector.”
