Empiric buys Birmingham PBSA scheme
Empiric Student Property has bought a new site in Birmingham, spending the last of its acquisition funds from a £56m equity raise in the process.
The company has acquired Selly Oak Apartments in Birmingham from Tiger Developments for £9m. The property is 63-bed mixed studio and shared apartment scheme opposite Empiric’s existing Selly Oak cluster and close to the University of Birmingham. It is fully let for the 2024/2025 academic year
The deal grows the company’s total operational beds in this cluster to 430.
Empiric Student Property has bought a new site in Birmingham, spending the last of its acquisition funds from a £56m equity raise in the process.
The company has acquired Selly Oak Apartments in Birmingham from Tiger Developments for £9m. The property is 63-bed mixed studio and shared apartment scheme opposite Empiric’s existing Selly Oak cluster and close to the University of Birmingham. It is fully let for the 2024/2025 academic year
The deal grows the company’s total operational beds in this cluster to 430.
John Nesbitt, managing director of Host, which has managed the property for Tiger, said: “This well-located asset has performed well since its completion, so Empiric’s interest came as no surprise. For Tiger, the transaction represents an attractive outcome and opportune moment to release capital for reinvestment into other PBSA and co-living opportunities, as well as the expansion of our third-party management businesses in Host and Habito, our recently formed co-living operational platform.”
Separately, Empiric has planning consent from Bristol City Council for the transformation of College House, a former office building it bought in February 2024, into a 57-bed, all-studio student accommodation scheme for postgraduate students.
Chief executive Duncan Garrood (pictured) said: “The company continues to improve the quality and resilience of its portfolio. Since March 2021 it has sold nearly £150m of non-core assets and will continue to dispose of non-aligned properties when market opportunities and appropriate pricing allows. This acquisition, together with the planning consent achieved to expand our Bristol cluster, supports the strategy outlined in the October equity raise of growing a portfolio of high quality buildings which enhance shareholder returns and benefit from increasing alignment to top-tier universities.”
