2020 was a record-breaking year for investment in United Kingdom purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), according to Savills.
Investors spent £5.77 billion (€6.66 billion/$7.93 billion) in the sector last year, a 5.7 percent increase on 2019. Investment was 0.8 percent higher than in 2015, which had held the record for most PBSA investment previously. It was also the first time a single deal accounted for a majority of activity. Blackstone’s £4.66 billion (€5.38 billion/$6.4 billion) acquisition of iQ Student Accommodation from Goldman Sachs and the Wellcome Trust accounted for 81 percent of investment in 2020.
Unite’s purchase of Liberty Living made up 40 percent of investment activity in 2019. Since the beginning of 2020, a staggering number of new investors have entered the sector, with more expected to follow. Crosstree, Barings, Brydell Partners, Ares and Franklin Templeton were among those making their sectoral debuts. Blackstone’s iQ move was it
