Arlington Advisors has started a fundraising drive for a new £400m student accommodation fund.
The UK-based fund manager has appointed Rothschild as lead advisor on the raise for the Arlington Student Accommodation Fund, which will be seeded with a portfolio of 8,000 beds owned by Arlington Investors.
The fund will aim to grow by targeting new opportunities around the UK. It hopes to deliver between 1,500 and 1,800 additional beds to the fund each year providing an additional gross asset value of £150m per annum.
The seed portfolio has 15 assets in 10 UK cities including London, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester. It is let both directly to universities and on a private-pay basis.
All assets within the fund will be managed by third-party student accommodation operators.
Arlington Advisors’ ASAF team will be led by managing director Sean McKeown who was previously commercial director of Campus Living Villages Europe and was responsible for growing it into the fifth largest owner/operator of student accommodation in the UK.
George Shweiry, founder and chief executive of Arlington Advisors, said: “Our investment and operational model is underpinned by an outstanding track record, placing us in an excellent position to establish our new fund to provide investors with a diversified PBSA portfolio with strong income and growth characteristics.”
Having significantly expanded its student platform since 2012, Arlington Investors is now the largest independent owner of off-campus student accommodation in the UK not tied to a single operator.
To send feedback, e-mail alex.peace@egi.co.uk or tweet @egalexpeace or @estatesgazette
