BlackRock Real Estate has completed a forward funding agreement with Hull-based Ashcourt Group for the development of a 239-bed student accommodation scheme in Leeds.
The site on Cavendish Street is less than a mile south of the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University campuses.
Ground work on site has begun and completion is targeted for August 2017, in advance of the 2017/18 academic year.
The scheme will incorporate a cinema space, music room, gym, common room, cycle storage, parking, laundry room and a terraced outdoor courtyard.
Tom Fleming of BlackRock’s European real estate business said: “The Cavendish Street development benefits from a premium location in a Russell Group university town and will have a high quality specification that differentiates it from its competition.”
This is the second acquisition of a UK student housing development in 2016 for BlackRock’s value-add real estate strategy. In March, the firm acquired a site in Sheffield with planning consent for the construction of a 535-bed student accommodation scheme.
Thomas Mueller, portfolio manager within BlackRock’s European real estate business said: “Student housing is a current focus sector for BlackRock Real Estate in the UK. It is in line with our UK value-add strategy to invest in shorter duration business plans with defensive, even counter-cyclical features.”
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