PwC has completed the sale of a portfolio operating under the Opal brand to Australian student accommodation operator Campus Living Villages for £244.9m.
The portfolio comprises eight student properties located in seven major cities across England and Wales providing 4,539 bed spaces.
The blocks are Opal 2, Leeds; Opal 1, Birmingham; Opal 1, Newport; Wilmslow Park, Phase 2 Manchester; Opal Court, Liverpool; Opal 3, Leeds; Bonington Halls and Opal 2, MacMillan Student Village.
PwC was appointed administrator to the blocks throughout March 2013.
Toby Underwood, joint administrator and PwC partner, said: “This is an excellent result for all stakeholders – the secured creditors and universities, but especially the students. This was a highly complex assignment which needed experts from across the PwC network.
“Initial offers were received from 13 parties ranging from individual property bids to those for the whole portfolio, with total bids amounting to over £2bn; over eight times the asking price. Campus Living Villages became our preferred bidder for the entire portfolio. Their bid represented the best outcome for creditors on a property by property basis.”
DTZ advised PwC.
annabel.dixon@estatesgazette.com
