The Trium Portfolio, as it is known, consists of Duresme Court, West Gate and Stanley Studios – three modern high-quality operational student housing developments located in Durham, Exeter, and Southampton. The properties are located near some of the UK’s Top 20 Russell Group higher education institutions such as Durham University (6th), the University of Exeter (12th), and the University of Southampton (15th). 

Maven Capital Partners UK LLP acted as the onshore asset manager on behalf of both IPIM and Glenmore Group, whilst Homes for Student’s Prestige Student Living brand and CRM Students will continue as student operators for the portfolio.

Brookfield entered the student housing market in 2016, and since then has grown to become one of the largest owners and operators of student housing in Europe with approximately 50,000 beds. It has also recently entered the US student housing market, through a joint venture with Scion Group. In the UK, Brookfield owns Student Roost, which it has developed from a 5,000-bed portfolio in 2016 into the UK’s third largest PBSA provider with over 21,000 beds, a centralized operations platform and integrated growth capabilities.

Rachel Pengilley, Partner at Knight Frank’s Student Property team said: “The Trium Portfolio comprises three best-in-class schemes with exceptional amenity provision. Each of the properties occupy a prime micro-location within its respective student market and the portfolio has attracted much investor interest. We’re very pleased to have brokered this significant deal between IPIM, Maven, Glenmore, and Brookfield.”

Michael Fuller, Managing Director and Head of Brookfield’s European Core-Plus programme said: “The Trium Portfolio represents an attractive entry into student housing for our European core-plus strategy. The UK student housing market has remained resilient throughout the cycle, and these assets are well-positioned to benefit from continued strong demand for post-secondary qualifications from UK universities, and a shortage of high-quality PBSA facilities. Leveraging our experience of owning and operating PBSA businesses, the portfolio will serve as a foundation for further acquisitions in UK cities with high-quality institutions.”

Selina Williams, Executive Director at IPIM said: “We’re delighted with the outcome of the sale of the Trium Portfolio on the back of the strong global interest received. The sale represents another profitable exit for our investors as we look to continue our strategy of developing institutional-quality PBSA in strong locations, before targeting an exit to long-term investors.  We remain highly positive on the outlook for the UK PBSA sector, which, despite the challenges of the pandemic, has again demonstrated its resilient characteristics.”

Daniel Rubin, Managing Director of Glenmore Property said: “Stanley Studios, Southampton has proven to be an excellent investment for Glenmore.  We’re thrilled that the property achieved 100% occupancy in its first year, with fantastic feedback from the students living there.  We’re equally thrilled to have successfully sold the property to Brookfield.  We believe the outlook for the UK PBSA sector remains compelling and we look forward to extending our activities in this exciting market.”

Andrew Whiteley, Partner at Maven said: “Our strong track record in the market has seen us identify and deliver a number of high quality PBSA developments across the UK which have proven to be highly attractive to private and institutional investors. The sale of the Trium portfolio is an excellent outcome for all parties and we are absolutely delighted with the returns that we’ve achieved for investors”.

Find out how Knight Frank's Student Property Team can help you by visiting our Student Property site