Unite Students has sold 13 properties to a Brookfield-managed fund for £295m.
The sale was a combination of wholly and jointly owned student accommodation across England and Scotland, in which Unite’s share was £102m.
It is the first stage of Unite’s plan to recycle £150m-£200m of assets in 2017 in order to take advantage of the investment market in student accommodation.
Unite said it is targeting mid- to high-ranked university locations with the most secure long-term growth prospects.
Proceeds will be used to fund Unite’s recent 3,100 bed on-campus acquisition at Aston University, Birmingham.
Richard Smith, chief executive of Unite Students, said: “This sale is an important part of our strategy to recycle capital to fund our ongoing investments, focused on the strongest university towns and cities, where we have deep university relationships and where we can provide the best accommodation and services for our students.
“Our development pipeline supports further earnings growth as we continue to invest in strong student markets.”
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