UK Alternative Asset Manager aims to secure planning consent for purpose built student accommodation scheme.
Maven Capital Partners (“Maven”), a leading UK property and private equity manager, has acquired a 28,000 sq ft building in Nottingham city centre for £3.7 million from a South African-listed property fund. The transaction was funded by Maven Investor Partners, an established network of professional client investors.
The acquisition is in line with Maven’s strategy to target properties with value-add potential across key UK regions.
The property comprises a city centre building over basement, ground, and first floor level, and benefits from rental income from two retail units which are currently let to two well-known high street retailers.
Situated in a prime location in Nottingham city centre, opposite the Victoria Shopping Centre, in the heart of the city’s retail, leisure, and entertainment area, the building offers significant opportunity for re-development above the retail units.
Planning permission will be sought to create a purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) development on first and additional upper levels, while retaining the ground floor retail units.
Nottingham has 59,400 full time students and is home to two well-regarded universities, the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University, which ranked 21st and 40th respectively in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020. The city is currently undersupplied in PBSA with 55% of students unable to access purpose built accommodation (source: Knight Frank, 2020).
Demand for PBSA is unlikely to be impacted in the wake of the pandemic, with historical data on student enrolment highlighting its resilience. Indeed, a reduction in the number of job opportunities during periods of economic downturn may even encourage an uptick in enrolment figures. Moreover, student mobility is expected to stage a recovery from the beginning of the 2021-22 academic year, suggesting that PBSA in the UK’s university cities retains its considerable capacity for value-addition in the long term (source: Bonard, 2020).
Maven has extensive experience in the PBSA sector where it has developed, managed and operated properties across the UK, in cities including Glasgow, Dundee, Durham, Liverpool, and Birmingham.
Andrew Whiteley, Partner at Maven, said: “The strong ongoing demand for purpose built student accommodation from both domestic and overseas students underpins our continued interest in this sector. Early reports suggest an increase in applications to UK universities again this year, further supporting the evidence of individuals investing in higher education in uncertain times. Nottingham is one of the largest regional student cities and we are delighted to be pushing forward with a planning application to provide an excellent base for students looking to enjoy all the benefits of city centre living.”