KKR & Inhabeo snap up €265m UK student housing portfolio

Global investor KKR and its living sector platform, Inhabeo, have acquired seven PBSA properties from Curlew Student Trust II (backed by CBRE IM clients) for £230 mln (€265 mln).

Curlew Student Trust

This portfolio comprises 2,179 beds across seven university cities in the UK. The properties, all newly built between 2020 and 2022 by Curlew Student Trust II, offer prime locations and desirable amenities, primarily featuring en-suite rooms. 
The portfolio has seen high demand, with about 80% of units leased to undergraduates and over 50% to domestic students. Its focus on affordable, quality housing is expected to capitalize on the increasing number of domestic students enrolling in UK universities.
Inhabeo will be responsible for managing these assets.
Seb d’Avanzo, head of Real Estate Acquisitions for KKR in Europe, said: “We are pleased to add a UK PBSA portfolio of rare scale and caliber to our portfolio, underscoring our conviction in high-quality living spaces within our Core+ strategy in Europe. Curlew have strategically developed a collection of assets with differentiated positioning in their local markets. We believe our continued investment in these properties will position them to benefit from strong enrolment in British universities and favourable tailwinds through outsized demand for modern accommodation experiences in great locations.”
Ross Netherway, CEO of Inhabeo, added: “This transaction marks another notable milestone for our European living sector platform with KKR, which now exceeds £800m. We intend to continue to grow our diversified portfolio of residential investments in strategically chosen assets, subsectors, and geographies.”
KKR is funding this acquisition through its European Core+ Real Estate strategy and other managed funds. This purchase aligns with KKR's recent trend of acquiring premium PBSA assets, which includes a 544-bed student housing development near the University of Warwick earlier this year, an 819-bed PBSA property in Bristol, and a 494-bed PBSA portfolio in the Greater Copenhagen area last year.
Jones Day acted as legal advisor for KKR, while CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang provided legal counsel to Curlew Student Trust II for this transaction.
Inhabeo collaborates strategically with KKR throughout Europe, focusing on both BTR and PBSA, utilizing both core-plus and value-add strategies.