Leading asset managers Investec has furthered strengthened its position in the purpose-built student accommodation sector (PBSA) by financing a joint venture deal to build four properties in the UK.

Since 2015, Investec has committed more than £820m of finance, funding a mix of domestic and international borrowers and the development of 19,500 beds across 53 schemes in 24 university cities. [emaillocker id=”71749″]

The latest round of funding has facilitated a joint venture agreement between two American companies ­ – investors Harrison Street and real estate managers CA Ventures – to build new facilities in London (Hackney), Edinburgh, Belfast and Leicester, totalling 935 beds.

Tom Griffiths of Investec, said: “The UK PBSA sector remains one of Investec’s conviction calls, despite the near-term challenges presented by Covid-19, and is one we anticipate rebounding quickly.

“This belief reflects a number of favourable underlying structural trends, including an expected increase in the number of students entering higher education and the ongoing appeal of UK universities on the global stage.

“Harrison Street and CA Ventures are two increasingly prominent players in the UK PBSA space and we’re excited to be partnering with them again as our loan origination in the sector closes in on £1bn.”

The deal represents the third such partnership with Harrison Street and the second with CA Ventures, the first of which represented the European debut by what is the third largest student housing developer in the US.

Mark Bladon, Head of Real Estate Lending at Investec, added: “A strategic focus in 2021 for Investec is further expanding its distribution capabilities to allow us to write larger ticket loans.

“By matching our established living platform with a diverse pool of sophisticated global capital looking for exposure to UK real estate, in particular the high growth BTR and PBSA sectors, we believe we can offer both existing and new clients an enhanced service level and continue to differentiate ourselves from the peer group.”

On completion of the transaction, approximately a third of the funding was sold down to Leumi UK, the London-based subsidiary of one of Israel’s largest banks. [/emaillocker]