Central London student accommodation developer and provider urbanest has completed a £151m refinancing deal with Nuveen Real Estate.
The senior term facility is secured against urbanest Battersea, a brand new operationally stabilised purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) asset located close to Battersea Power Station.
The 853-bed scheme recently achieved Passivhaus accreditation, which makes it the largest Passivhaus building in the UK and the eighth largest in the world, according to urbanest.
Vicky Skinner, CFO of urbanest, said: “We are delighted to partner with Nuveen Real Estate for the refinancing of our newest asset, urbanest Battersea. The business has pushed sustainability boundaries far beyond anything seen in the UK PBSA sector to date, and we are immensely proud to have created a world-class sustainable student community in London where our student residents, University partners and our team can thrive.”
Caroline Pellmann, senior director at Nuveen Real Estate, added: “The ongoing trend of student population growth combined with the structural undersupply of quality PBSA beds, particularly in Central London, continues to attract investor capital into this sector. Despite only opening in September last year, urbanest Battersea’s occupancy level demonstrates the demand for high-quality, well-located student accommodation in Central London. This facility provides an excellent opportunity to add further exposure to a much sought after asset class and we are proud to work alongside such a highly experienced sponsor specialising in the PSBA space.”
