London, March 9, 2021 – Heitman LLC (“Heitman”), a global real estate investment management firm, recently agreed to acquire three UK student housing assets – one fully-occupied asset and two forward-funded developments for approximately £70 million in an off market transaction with Alumno Group, a leading student housing developer based in London. The assets are well-located in close proximity to major universities and student populations and was acquired by Heitman in connection with its global investment strategy.
“We are pleased to work with a top-tier developer such as Alumno Group on these high quality student housing assets,” said Caleb Mercer, Heitman Managing Director of European Real Estate Investment. “Importantly, despite COVID-19, purpose-built student accommodations remain in demand and has experienced steady occupancy gains each year since 2020 and we expect that trend to continue as students seek greater convenience and higher quality of life.”
“With favorable supply and demand fundamentals, our investments in student housing assets across the UK further diversifies our global portfolio with assets less correlated to, or as we like to say, delinked from GDP, reflecting one of the key thematic strategies we are pursuing in the present environment,” said Gordon Black, Heitman Senior Managing Director and Global Portfolio Manager. “As we continue to execute our global strategy, we’ll look to invest in accordance with three themes: divergence or smart diversification among traditional property types, convergence or capitalization of maturing or mispriced property types, and delinked or defensive, which involves investing in assets with traits less tied to economic cycles.”
David Campbell, Founder and Managing Director of Alumno, added, “We are delighted to be working with Heitman and welcome the opportunity to build on our strong track record in the sector. Working with such a well- regarded and renowned international investment company is a significant milestone for our company and we look forward to developing a long term partnership.”
- Alumno Falmer: Heitman acquired a 71 bed student housing asset in a strong micro-location walkable to University of Sussex and University of Brighton – main Falmer Campus. Falmer boasts a grand reception area, common room viewing space with sound systems, and well-manicured green space with a south facing deck.
- Alumno Lewes: Heitman forward-funded a 60 bed student housing development in an established student area, which is well-located between University of Brighton’s city campus and its Moulsecoomb campus and the various specialist colleges, such as the Film school. Once complete, the asset will boast gallery space, a winter garden rooftop, terraced open space, a café, as well as various social, recreational, and study areas. The ground floor will also be leased to a co-op convenience store.
- Alumno Leeds: Heitman forward-funded a student housing development in Leeds, UK to develop a 411 bed student housing asset well located near the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University. The new, amenity-driven building is located on Whitelock Street and provides significant amenity including a rooftop gym, cinema, private dining and study areas, student lounge, and an outdoor exercise space.
