Greystar buys slice of £3bn Wembley Park estate

Greystar has acquired a 770-bed, 20-storey student housing development at Wembley Park from Quintain. The site is owned by private equity firm Lone Star, which acquired the developer for £1bn in 2015. Greystar has acquired the scheme on behalf of its pan-European residential fund GEPE I. It will comprise 770 beds across 20 storeys, along with 7,480 sq ft of internal amenity space and 9,096 sq ft of external facilities. The site has planning consent for a 100% market-rent, purpose-built student accommodation property, with permission obtained by Quintain last year. Greystar will operate the property under its Canvas brand, accompanying its existing 283-bed PBSA site in Wembley Park. The site forms part of the 12-acre North East Lands development within the Wembley Park masterplan, which will ultimately deliver 2,347 homes of varying tenures next to the seven-acre Union Park. Ben Mowbray, senior director, UK student investment at Greystar, said: “The PBSA sector is undergoing a period of resurgence after the disruption of Covid-19, and this can clearly be seen in the UK where demand continues to outstrip supply. “In London, the UK’s largest student market, university applications are now at seven times pre-pandemic levels, and we expect a PBSA shortfall of 178,000 beds in the capital alone. The Wembley Park scheme is one of the few developments in London under construction currently, and the strategic acquisition expands our existing presence in north-west London, where we successfully operate Canvas Wembley. “With an existing portfolio of over 120,000 student beds globally, we are well positioned to leverage the opportunities ahead in PBSA – one of our highest conviction investment strategies globally.” The Quintain portfolio was marketed for sale last year with a price tag of £3bn. Discussions on selling the portfolio have been held at several points in the past few years. Lone Star most recently restarted the sale process. Bidders in historic processes have reportedly included Patrizia, Long Harbour and Get Living. Greystar entered the UK PBSA market in 2013 with its Chapter Living brand in London. It created the Canvas brand in 2021 and part-owned IQ until 2020. In December last year, it completed the acquisition of PBSA provider Student Roost from one of Brookfield’s real estate private funds, for a new joint venture. View other developments in Wembley Park >> To send feedback, e-mail akanksha.soni@eg.co.uk or tweet @AkankshaEG or @EGPropertyNews Image: Quintain