Student rooms developer Unite moves into London BTR sector

Unite Students has acquired 180 Stratford, a 178-unit purpose-built build-to-rent (BTR) complex located in East London for £71 million (€81 million/$79 million).

The acquisition and refurbishment will be funded from the proceeds of recent disposals.

“As previously outlined, we believe that there is an exciting opportunity to grow our platform in the wider living sector by catering to the growing number of young professional renters living in major U.K. cities," said Richard Smith, CEO, Unite Students. "We already serve this market through the 9,000 postgraduate students who live with us each year. This pilot build-to-rent investment offers the opportunity to test our operational capability in the sector and understand the potential synergies with our student business.”

The property offers 319 beds across a mix of one-, two- and three-bed units, as well as 11,000 square feet of commercial space. The acquisition will increase Unite's scale in the Stra