McGuireWoods London represented Arlington Investors and Campus Living Villages in purchasing student accommodation portfolios for approximately £125 million from Spectrum Housing Group and Sanctuary Housing Association.
The joint venture deal, which completed on 9 March 2016, is a significant acquisition in the student accommodation market in the UK, being one of the first insurance lending backed deals with a direct let portfolio, which currently consists of just under 2000 units, including finance for a further 500 units under construction.
“The finance and structure available for the deal will generate greater returns than those previously available in the market. This is a positive sign of a booming property market” said Hed Amitai, a partner in the firm’s tax practice who led the McGuireWoods team in the deal.
Other principal members of the McGuireWoods team included partners Jura Junnila who handled the corporate and listing and joint venture negotiations and Marc Isaacs who handled the banking aspects, with Simon Neilson-Clark and Martin Barrett handling the real estate management aspects.
Arlington Investors is a Jersey-based company with a key focus on investments in prime property and representing major family office investors from the Middle East. Campus Living Villages is a leading provider of student housing, with a portfolio of owned and managed sites located predominantly on campuses at higher education institutions.
This is the third major student housing purchase McGuireWoods has handled for Arlington Investors in the past three years. In 2014, we handled the £250 million acquisition of the Ottoway student accommodation portfolio from the Opal group. In 2015, we assisted in the purchase and structuring of the Goldsmiths student accommodation portfolio from Goldsmiths University.
McGuireWoods represents investors, developers, financial institutions and Fortune 100 companies in matters globally. The international tax practice assists clients in structuring cross-border mergers and acquisitions, including forming special acquisition structures and utilizing tax-advantaged strategies.