Publication

Spotlight: UK Student Housing – 2017

10 May 2017

Investors continue to pay premiums to aggregate greater student bed numbers

■ 68,000 beds traded last year with a total value of £4.5bn. In 2017 we expect this to rise to 75,000 beds trading for £5.3bn, a rise of 17% year on year.

■ Investors are willing to pay premiums for larger portfolios, driven by their need to allocate their investment capital and build scale quickly.

■ Investment from Singapore has grown massively, with GIC and Mapletree spending almost £1.2bn on UK student housing in 2016.

■ The General Election presents an opportunity for policy to become more welcoming to international students. If students are removed from migration targets, growth of overseas students in the UK could exceed worldwide growth of 6% per year.

■ Brexit may have intensified appetite for UK student housing. We saw over £2.1bn transacted after the referendum, compared to £1.9bn earlier in the year.

■ Development prospects are stronger this year in prime markets such as Exeter, Guildford and Leeds. They are weaker in cities such as Aberdeen and Liverpool.