South African-backed fund Almero Holdings has done two student accommodation deals worth a total of £20m and revealed plans to double its holdings in the sector by 2020.
The London-based family fund, which is part of Steyn Capital Partners Group, has bought the Silver Spoon portfolio, which comprises 213 beds spread across 36 properties in Leeds, Manchester and Nottingham. In a separate deal, it has also acquired the 62-student bed scheme Clydesdale House in Manchester.
The deals have doubled Almero’s student portfolio in terms of beds to assets and the firm’s investment head Michael Haverty said it was looking to expand this figure to at least 1,000 by the end of 2020.
“We still see a lot of growth in the sector particularly in prime Russell Group university cities, which have tended to be historically undersupplied,” he said. “As of the past couple of years, student accommodation has offered investors slightly more attractive yields compared with those of the other more traditional real estate asset classes.”
The Silver Spoon portfolio, which was marketed by Cushman & Wakefield, consists of 36 five-, six- and seven-bed houses that are 100% let for the 2018-19 academic year.
It produces an annual rental income of just over £1.2m and had an asking price of £14.15m. Clydesdale House, which was sold out of receivership by GVA, extends to 41,047 sq ft and is in Manchester city centre close to the Arndale centre.
The asset presents an opportunity to add value with the ground floor and basement area having potential for an office or retail use.
Steyn Capital, established in 2013 by brothers Louis and TJ Steyn, invests in urban regeneration projects in Los Angeles, Brooklyn and Johannesburg, and has a range of commercial assets as well as the UK student portfolio.
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