Two companies have joined forces to create a £50m portfolio of professionally-managed student houses in the UK.

Real estate fund manager Moorfield Group and We Are Kin, a landlord and refitter of student homes,  have seeded their venture with a £10m property portfolio and aim to grow it to more than 1000 beds. They are targeting homes which can accommodate 5-8 students.

Focussing on the Midlands and the North, Moorfield is as acting as the principle investor while We Are Kin’s primary function is acquisitions and operating the portfolio.

Ross Netherway, Head of Origination at Moorfield Group, said: “Despite the current disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, we remain focused on the student accommodation sector and are confident that student numbers will continue to grow over the next decade.

“This partnership presents an opportunity for us to diversify our exposure in the sector, as part of our ongoing ‘beds’ investment strategy, and enables us to accelerate the professionalisation of a significant yet overlooked area of the market.”

We Are Kin was launched last year in partnership with build-to-rent investors Young.

Neil Young, Investment Chair at Young and Chairman of We Are KIN, added: “Creating the student shared living sector was something Young first explored in 2019. So, launching We Are Kin in 2020, and now partnering with Moorfield so soon is really exciting.

“Throughout my time in the living sector, we have aimed to dramatically improve the offer for the consumer. Redefining the HMO market has always interested me, and we now intend to materially disrupt this sector, which is currently dominated by amateur landlords, but which has huge institutional potential.”