Residential developer Southern Grove and Bahrain based investor Tadhamon Capital have launched a new student jv that is targeting a 10,000-bed portfolio within the next five years.
The pair’s new platform, Future Generation, will be a 50:50 partnership and has £50m in equity ready to deploy.
It has already secured a pipeline of over 1,000 beds in planning or development stages.
The first site, Steel City in Sheffield, has planning permission for 246 beds and will complete in 2019. Planning is also to be submitted for a 557-bed scheme in Guildford, Guilden Park. Another site in Colchester will deliver 230 beds.
Further sites under contract will have 3,000 beds between them, with the entire portfolio owned and operated under the Future Generation platform.
Andrew Southern, chairman of the Southern Grove Group of Companies, said: “The majority of student accommodation providers come in at the tail end of the development process and focus on the operational side of things.
“With our track record as residential developers, we will come in from the ground up, meaning that we will buy, build and operate everything in our portfolio. Because we can buy better and build better, we know we can deliver a superior end product and experience.”
Southern Grove has delivered residential-led schemes across London and the South East with a combined end value of some £500m.
Tadhamon Capital is a Bahrain-based regulated Islamic investment company and has been an active investor in the UK market since 2009. It recently announced plans to increase its assets under management in the UK to over £500m.
Hesham Al Gassab, executive director of investments at Tadhamon Capital, said: “Despite Brexit taking place, we are still a long-term believer in the UK real estate market, with the student accommodation sector remaining a particular focus of ours.”
JLL’s capital markets funding team advised the jv and financing arrangements. JLL also advised on the acquisition and financing for the Guilden Park site.
To send feedback, e-mail alex.peace@egi.co.uk or tweet @egalexpeace or @estatesgazette
