Orka Investments has formed a joint venture with an unnamed global institutional real estate investor to acquire purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) assets across the UK.
The joint venture was launched via three off-market acquisitions providing 1,300 beds with 90% of the income from Russell Group university locations. The acquisition was supported by a facility provided by Investec.
The JV intends to scale the portfolio with further acquisitions targeting standing PBSA assets in Russell Group university cities where value can be added via repositioning.
Raoul Malhotra, founder and CEO of Orka Investments, said: “This partnership underscores our ability to source off-market opportunities that combine defensive income with meaningful value creation. UK PBSA continues to demonstrate exceptional resilience, and we are proud to align with one of the world’s most respected institutional investors and secured financing from UK leading PBSA lender, Investec, as we scale our platform.”
Sebastian Walley, from Investec Real Estate, added: “We are pleased to support this joint venture between Orka and a leading global institutional real estate investor, as it establishes and scales its PBSA platform. Our financing has been structured to provide the certainty and flexibility required to execute its strategy reflecting Investec’s experience in supporting clients operating in specialist living sectors.”
