RPS Capital Partners is planning to offload its circa £80m student accommodation business to concentrate on mixed-use and residential investment.
The real estate investment fund has instructed Knight Frank to sell its 370-bed student scheme at Holloway Road, N7, for £43m – a 6% yield. The sale comes ahead of an expected divestment of its remaining three student assets.
In total the portfolio, which includes properties in Durham, Exeter and Sheffield, comprises more than 1,000 beds and is likely to fetch around £80m.
Sources said RPS was keen to capitalise on current investor demand for student property.
According to a recent report from CBRE, buyers increased their spending in the sector by 16% to £246m in the first quarter of 2012. This was up from £212m for the same period a year earlier.
RPS, set up in 2008 by Trevor Pothecary, Peter Beaumont and David Newman, is backed by hedge fund Elliott, which has $25bn (£16bn) of assets under management.
joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com
