News

Unite Group completed the acquisition of Empiric Student Property on 28 January, adding the Hello Student brand and all Empiric assets to its portfolio.

Bowmer + Kirkland has been appointed main contractor for the £274 million Castle Leazes student accommodation redevelopment in Newcastle, replacing a 1,250-bed 1960s complex with 2,009 modern, sustainable rooms for Unite Students and Newcastle University.

The University of Kent has cancelled its £51 million plan to build a 1,000-bed student accommodation block and sports centre on its Canterbury campus, citing changing student needs, affordability concerns, and rising construction costs since planning permission was granted in 2023.

Palantine Capital Partners offloaded Arba San Marcos, a 240-unit student housing community serving Texas State University in San Marcos. The buyer was Centurion Property Group.

Panorama Investment Corporation secured approval from VCAT for a revised student accommodation project at 21-25 Bouverie Street, Carlton, after reducing the development from 29 to 17 storeys and cutting beds from 510 to 324, addressing City of Melbourne concerns on design, heritage, and amenity impacts.

The new six-storey student accommodation will provide a total of 172 bedrooms comprising of 155 bed spaces shared across 22 cluster flats with each flat containing shared kitchen and lounge facilities.

Newham Council has approved RAD CHP Ltd’s proposal to develop 628 student bed spaces at Royal Albert Way, including ancillary facilities and Class E floorspace at ground level, enhancing the site’s mixed-use capacity.

Developer Sirona Urban and landowner Seven Entertainment Pty Ltd have submitted plans for a $170 million, 33-storey student accommodation tower at 18-28 Telethon Avenue, Perth CBD, featuring 854 beds and extensive communal amenities near ECU City campus and RAC Arena.

The facility was agreed for an experienced property investor and developer operating in the student accommodation sector. The borrower had acquired a former office building in Aberdeen city centre and secured planning consent to convert the property into 52 self-contained student studios.

Heitman closed its largest fund to date, Heitman Value Partners Fund VI, securing $2 billion in commitments—exceeding its $1.75 billion target—and an additional $620 million in co-investment capital, providing approximately $6.55 billion in deployable capital for growth-focused real estate investments.