Investment firm Orka has bought an Aberdeen purpose-built student accommodation site from U-Student Group as part of a drive to amass a £300m PBSA platform.
It is understood that the property sold below asking price.
The 222-bed scheme, called ABeleven, was put up for sale for £13.6m by Cushman & Wakefield in July last year. Its price tag reflected a net initial yield of 6.25%, and projected reversionary yield of 6.85% in 2024/25.
The deal is the latest in a series of PBSA acquisitions that Orka has made in the last three years.
Factors driving the acquisition included the site’s strong location and the rental growth dynamics in Aberdeen’s PBSA market. Marketing materials for the property cited a 9.1% rise in rents in the city for the 2023/24 academic year.
The investor is looking to acquire more stabilised assets for its portfolio, as well as portfolio deals and forward funding opportunities in regional UK cities.
ABeleven comprises 214 ensuite rooms and eight studio flats. The asset was fully let for the 2023/24 academic year.
The scheme, located on Willowbank Road, has a total contracted rent of £1,361,162 and is located close to both the University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University.
According to the marketing materials, U-Student will not continue to operate the property after the sale.
Orka was founded by Raoul Malhotra and Oskar Sköldberg in 2020. It manages investments on behalf of institutions and families, using a club model.
It has a particular focus on manage-to-core strategies in high-barrier-to-entry locations.
CBRE represented Orka on the acquisition.
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Photo © Cushman & Wakefield
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