Gatehouse acquires UK student accommodation property
Gatehouse Bank plc (“Gatehouse”), the London-based investment bank specialising in Shariah-compliant products and services, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Fountainbridge, a student accommodation property located in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, from Rockspring Property Investment Managers LLP (“Rockspring”) UK Value fund for £20.0 million. The property is a modern, purpose built student accommodation asset with a total of 331 bedrooms, centrally located to the University of Edinburgh, Herriot-Watt, Napier and Queen Margaret universities.
The investment marks the continued development of Gatehouse’s activity in the UK student accommodation sector following the firm’s successful realisation of four investments comprising over 1,600 beds with a combined value in excess of £100 million, completed last year. Building on the success in this sector, Gatehouse has identified a market shift towards direct-let assets, and the Fountainbridge asset includes a subset of direct-let rooms. The firm is currently considering other investments in the UK student accommodation sector.
David Swan, Head of Real Estate Investment at Gatehouse said, “We are excited about the prospects for the Fountainbridge investment, and we look forward to expanding our portfolio within the student accommodation space. Having successfully invested in this sector previously, Gatehouse has a wealth of experience, which provides us with the ability to transact with sellers in a timely and efficient manner.”
Henry Thompson, CEO of Gatehouse added “Student accommodation is a sector which is well understood and in high-demand among our investor-base. Today our clients are looking for stable, yielding assets, and Fountainbridge is the first of several income-generating investments which we plan to introduce throughout the remainder of the year.”
Richard Bains, Rockspring Partner and Fund Manager of the UK Value series, said, “We are delighted to have concluded the sale of Fountainbridge to Gatehouse Bank, who will no doubt build on the successful asset management initiatives deployed during Rockspring’s ownership, including a full refurbishment of the asset. This sale represents a further example of how we have been able to create value for our UK Value 1 investors.”
Marle Place Property Limited acted on behalf of Gatehouse, and Knight Frank LLP acted on behalf of Rockspring.