(Adds details on deal, sector)
Feb 26 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs' merchant banking
unit and medical charity Wellcome Trust have agreed
to sell https://www.iqstudentaccommodation.com/blackstone-acquire-iq
the British student accommodation company iQ to Blackstone
for 4.66 billion pounds ($6.06 billion), the companies
said.
Britain is the second largest market for purpose-built
student accommodation outside of North America and rapid growth
over the last decade means that the sector is now valued at more
than 50 billion pounds, according https://www.knightfrank.co.uk/research/active-capital/2019-06-18-uk-purposebuilt-student-accommodation-market-valued-at-more-than-ps50bn
to Knight Frank.
There were 142 universities in the UK in 2017, according to
market and consumer data firm Statista, while a report by the
Higher Education Statistics Agency showed https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/facts-and-stats/Pages/higher-education-data.aspx
there were 2.34 million students studying at higher education
institutions between 2017 and 2018.
"British higher education is globally renowned and we are
delighted to invest meaningful capital to support iQ's further
growth and continue to deliver the highest quality accommodation
for students across the country," James Seppala, Head of Real
Estate Europe at Blackstone, said.
Goldman and Wellcome said the deal would be the largest ever
private real estate deal in Britain and was subject to
regulatory approvals.
iQ was established in 2006, with Wellcome as one of the
founding investors, and merged with Goldman Sachs' student
housing business in 2016. It owns and manages more than 28,000
beds across Britain, with a development pipeline in excess of
4,000 beds.
Property firms have turned to Britain's budding
build-to-rent sector, which caters to students and city dwellers
seeking affordable accommodation, as traditional home building
and selling falters.
Student housing provider Unite last year said it
would buy rival Liberty Living Group for 1.4 billion pounds.
The iQ deal follows media reports on Tuesday that Blackstone
will use money from a $14 billion Saudi-backed infrastructure
fund to invest in Britain.
iQ's portfolio is concentrated in London - where it is the
largest owner of student accommodation - and also Manchester,
Leeds, Sheffield, Edinburgh and Birmingham.
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley & Co. International and
Eastdil Secured were as financial advisors to the sellers. Bank
of America and Citi were financial advisors to Blackstone.
($1 = 0.7696 pounds)
(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru, editing by
Louise Heavens and David Evans)