Far East Orchard buys US$79 million London site for conversion to student housing

[SINGAPORE] Far East Orchard is buying a London property for £60 million (US$79.3 million), which it will redevelop into a 444-bed student accommodation and a separate eight-unit worker accommodation block.

On Thursday (Sep 24), the company said the acquisition of King’s Place was made by its majority-owned UK joint venture, Borough High Street Development.

Work on the freehold site is expected to be completed in 2029, before the start of the 2029/30 academic year.

The company said that London’s student accommodation market continues to experience a structural supply imbalance, supported by a large domestic and international student population and constraints on new developments.

Alan Tang, group CEO of Far East Orchard, said: “London remains one of the UK’s most attractive and supply-constrained student accommodation markets.”

King’s Place is a short walk from King’s College London, the London School of Economics and Political Science, Queen Mary University of London and Imperial College London.

Far East Orchard noted that there is an ongoing court proceeding between the seller, LDC (Portfolio), and a third party in connection with the proposed development.

The proceeding was brought against LDC by the owner of a property adjacent to the site and relates to an alleged infringement of rights of light arising from the proposed development. The potential impact of the proceeding on the group is not expected to be material.

This marks the Far East UK Student Accommodation Development Fund’s (Fesad) third acquisition and first development in London. It fully deploys the fund’s committed capital and expands its development portfolio across London, Manchester and Glasgow, comprising a total of 956 purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) beds.

SEE ALSO

Is the UK student-housing party over? Singapore players face divergent prospects in PBSA market

Far East Orchard secures £96 million for private fund to develop UK student accommodation

The acquisition also brings the group’s PBSA portfolio to more than 60,000 beds owned and managed.

Fesad, which is managed by wholly owned Far East Orchard, owns 85 per cent of Borough High Street Development through wholly owned Far East PBSA Venture I.

The remaining interests are held equally by Far East Orchard Investments (UK) and Woh Hup’s wholly owned Aurum Investments at 7.5 per cent each.

Once completed, King’s Place will be managed by Homes for Students, a subsidiary of Far East Orchard.