Breaking Property News 05/02/25
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Veld Capital backs the UK PBSA sector
Veld Capital (“Veld”), a leading asset-backed focused private investment firm, today announces that it has completed the acquisition of Saltwater Place and Mary Parker House, two high-quality, recently built Purpose Built Student Accommodation (“PBSA”) assets located in Plymouth, UK. The properties were acquired from Pickstock Group and Maple Grove Developments, who developed the assets, following two separate transactions.
The assets jointly offer 513 rooms and were fully let over the past three academic years. Saltwater Place is located next to the city centre in Plymouth with a variety of retail and leisure amenities available within a 15-minute walk to the main university campus and Plymouth train station. Mary Parker House is located within a 6-minute walk to the main university campus and an 8-minute walk to Plymouth train station.
Like many leading UK destinations for higher education, Plymouth has a chronically undersupplied PBSA market. With a student population in the region of 24,000 across three educational institutions, there are only ~6,000 PBSA beds available. Local supply-demand fundamentals are unlikely to change in the medium-term given that new PBSA supply is restricted by limited viable land availability coupled with high construction costs.
As a result, these investments offer exceptional value for Veld with a strong base of income generated from two well-performing PBSA assets that have been acquired significantly below replacement cost and with no short-term capital expenditure required.
Jon Silvosa, Investment Director at Veld, commented, ‘The high-income potential and exceptional value of these acquisitions proved to be particularly attractive to Veld, offering strong returns for core assets in an excellent location with very solid fundamentals associated. The high yielding nature of these investments in what has consistently proven to be a resilient asset class is something that we are actively looking to build upon as we pursue a number of other attractive opportunities in the UK PBSA market.’
Nick Barton Cliffe, Investment Manager at Avignon, added, ‘Avignon are delighted to have worked in partnership with Veld Capital on these acquisitions. The assets’ proven occupational track record has provided the basis of an excellent demand profile. Combined with the underlying supply shortage in the Plymouth PBSA market, we identified a highly compelling story with attractive cash-on-cash returns compared to historical levels as well as wider market comparables.’
Justin Sulger, Managing Partner at Veld, concluded, ‘These investments reflect our continued conviction in the UK PBSA sector which, despite its maturity, remains significantly under-supplied. It is also supported by very favourable fundamentals and demographic tailwinds in what remains one of the most sought-after education destinations globally. Saltwater Place and Mary Parker House are the first in a series of PBSA investments we expect to complete in the UK market.’
Veld Capital worked in partnership with Avignon Capital on the acquisitions and will work together on the day-to-day asset management operations going forward. Barclays PLC provided acquisition financing for both transactions. Danesborough Properties advised the purchasers. Beachrock and Cushman & Wakefield advised the vendors.
This news follows Veld’s acquisition of Kings Hill business park in Kent that was announced in December.
Andrew Stanton Executive Editor – moving property and proptech forward. PropTech-X
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