Unite Students has disposed of an 11-strong property portfolio – comprising 4,488 beds – for £306m, with the company’s share sitting at £236m.

The deal – struck with an affiliate of Lone Star Funds – includes assets in Sheffield (1,700 beds), Reading (703 beds), Leicester (665 beds), Bedford (517 beds), Liverpool (390 beds), Birmingham (337 beds), Bristol (99 beds) and Leeds (77 beds).

The disposal is part of the group’s proactive portfolio management strategy, resulting in “increased alignment to high and mid-ranked universities that provide the greatest quality and value to students”.

It also sees Unite exit certain “smaller, less operationally efficient assets” in cities such as Bristol and Leeds.

Completion will occur on 15 March on four of the properties in the portfolio, with the rest set to cross the line on 31 August 2022.

Richard Smith, chief executive of Unite Students, said: “We have now completed the disposal programme set out at the time of our acquisition of Liberty Living in 2019.

“These disposals have increased the focus of our portfolio in the strongest university cities and ensure our ability to sustain rental growth over a longer time horizon.

“Our balance sheet is also positioned for growth with the investment capacity to deliver our biggest ever secured development pipeline of £1bn and pursue further opportunities to extend our best-in-class platform.”

The Assets
Polhill Park – Bedford
Calthorpe Court – Birmingham
Studio 58 – Bristol
The Priory – Leeds
Filbert Village – Leicester
Paddington Park House – Liverpool
Crown House – Reading
Kendrick Hall – Reading
Devonshire Courtyard – Sheffield
The Forge – Sheffield
The Forge 2 – Sheffield