Goldman Sachs has been chosen as preferred bidder for Knightsbridge Student Housing’s £500m Westbourne portfolio, as £2.7bn of UK student accommodation deals were agreed or completed last month.
A raft of companies are looking to build new platforms and gain access to the steady income stream that the sector provides.
In March, Russian-backed Letter One bought Carlyle Group’s Pure Student Living business for £532m, Liberty Living was bought by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for £1.1bn, and PSP and Greystar agreed to buy Round Hill’s Nido business for £600m.
Goldman Sachs was picked to buy the Westbourne portfolio ahead of the National Pensions Service of Korea, advised by Europa Capital and Round Hill Capital.
The portfolio totals 5,867 beds and comprises 12 properties in London, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Brighton, Huddersfield, Lincoln, Newcastle, Oxford, Plymouth and Bangor in Wales.
Goldman Sachs is likely to work with asset manager Greystar, although at the point of entering exclusive talks the pair were yet to formally tie-up.
The portfolio makes up most of Knightsbridge’s standing portfolio, which is backed by Oaktree Capital Management, although it still has a development pipeline of 5,000 rooms.
