Greystar Real Estate Partners, PSP Investments and Allianz Real Estate have formed a joint venture to grow Chapter, London’s leading student accommodation brand.
Allianz is acquiring an interest in Chapter alongside PSP Investments and Greystar’s current stake. The new partnership supports an expansion program targeting 10,000 student beds and doubling the size of the portfolio within five years. The partnership’s strategy is to continue to grow the portfolio through acquisitions and new developments in addition to continuing to improve the existing assets and Chapter brand.
“London’s housing market is under enormous pressure and student accommodation in prime locations is highly constrained,” said Bob Faith, founder and CEO of Greystar. “London is a global leader in higher education, attracting students from around the world and Chapter is well positioned to provide quality housing in prime locations. We have built Chapter into a strong brand, which students and parents from around the world trust to provide a safe and secure home while they are pursuing their studies.”
London was recently rated as the best city in the world for university students by QS, a leading global higher education company that publishes the annual World University Rankings. The ratings are based on factors such as the number of top universities in a city, local job market, diversity and quality of life.
London is an attractive destination for international students, with an estimated one in four students coming from outside of the United Kingdom. London is also popular with British students and these strong international and domestic markets have created a shortage of purpose-built student accommodation in the city. London is experiencing a housing shortage and demand for student accommodation currently exceeds supply by a ratio of approximately two to one.
Student property investment totaled £4 billion ($5.3 billion) in 2017, up 25 percent on the previous year due to the strength and quality of the United Kingdom’s higher education sector, according to Knight Frank. For the 2018–2019 cycle, the overall applications from outside of the United Kingdom increased by 7.6 percent, highlighting the enduring popularity of the United Kingdom as a place to study and live. The number of students accepting places at U.K. institutions has increased over the long-term. In 2017–2018, more than 200,000 18-year-olds and 70,000 students from outside the United Kingdom accepted places, the highest on record.
Approximately 23,000 purpose-built student bedrooms are due to be completed across the country by the start of the 2018–2019 academic year, according to Knight Frank. A further 11,000 beds are currently under construction or in planning to be delivered in the 2019 and 2020 academic years, although this total may rise as new development applications are approved.
