Unite Group arm, GIC to buy Aston Student Village for 227 mln stg

Unite Students, the student accommodation unit of Unite Group Plc, and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC have bought Birmingham-based student housing provider Aston Student Village for 227 million pounds ($283 million).

The London Student Accommodation Vehicle, a 50:50 joint venture between Unite and GIC, is funding the deal with 40 percent equity and 60 percent debt, Unite Students said.

Aston Student Village (ASV) comprises 3,067 beds across five properties on the Aston University campus.

The deal would expand Unite's presence to up to 5,000 beds in Birmingham, the second largest student city in the UK after London, with over 70,000 students during term time.

ASV will generate gross annual income of around 17 million pounds for the 2017/18 academic year and immediately add to earnings and NAV, Unite said.

The purchase is expected to add 1-2 pence to the Unite Group's earnings per share going forward, Unite Students said. ($1 = 0.8021 pounds)

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)