Lothbury buys more student digs

Lothbury Investment Management, on behalf of Lothbury Property Trust, has added two student accommodation assets to its portfolio. The fund bought a 166-bed facility in Peckham Road, Camberwell, SE5, for more than £20m, and a new-build 196-bed asset in Aberdeen for £14m. The Camberwell development comprises a part-extension and part-conversion of Southwark borough’s former town hall. It offers 166 student beds, artists’ studios, a café gallery and a facility for local charity, Theatre Peckham Company, that includes rehearsal studios and an auditorium. The scheme is wholly let to Goldsmiths University. Homes for Students will manage the site on behalf of Lothbury. The Aberdeen development comprises a series of cluster flats and studios. Home for Students will manage the site on behalf of Lothbury Property Trust. Simon Radford, chief executive of Lothbury Investment Management, said: “We put in place a strategy last year to increase weighting in the ‘other’ sector and diversify our portfolios. The fund’s exposure to this sector has increased from 1% to just under 7% during the 18 months ending 30 September. It has also contributed to a reduction in the active holding, broadly in line with the cycle of the property market, as our projects come to completion. “We have rapidly assembled a portfolio of student accommodation, with these two developments having recently opened and the 418-bed scheme at Sheraton Park, Durham currently under construction.” • To send feedback, e-mail shekha.vyas@estatesgazette.com or tweet @ShekhaV or @estatesgazette