Secure Trust Bank (STB) Real Estate Finance has provided a £44.3m loan to refinance three purpose-built student accommodation sites in Glasgow, Sheffield and Leeds. The facilities were developed or refurbished by Urbanite, a specialist PBSA developer backed by private equity firm Prescient Capital.
Prescient Capital used the three-year loan facility to refinance the portfolio and stabilise the assets before determining a longer-term strategy for the properties.
Portfolio details
The portfolio includes Glasgow’s Clyde Court and Sheffield’s Electric Press, both recent constructions. The third site, The Leatherworks in Leeds, includes a listed building and features gated access designed to create a campus-style environment with communal facilities.
The transaction was introduced to STB by Clive Offord of Cofford & Co Property Finance. Offord connected the parties based on STB’s recent activity in the PBSA market and the north of England.
Doug Friend, director at Prescient Capital, said the firm’s main considerations were competitive pricing and reliable delivery timelines for the large-scale refinancing. “We hadn’t worked with Secure Trust Bank previously, but our long-term contact Clive Offord had heard positive things about the company,” Friend stated.
Market context
The refinancing reflects ongoing activity in the UK student accommodation sector, which has seen increased institutional investment in recent years. The transaction comes as property financing transactions continue to evolve across different asset classes.
Danny Thornton, relationship director at STB Real Estate Finance, noted the loan required overcoming challenges associated with financing three PBSA sites across the UK. The bank has been active in both the student accommodation market and northern UK regions, though specific transaction volumes were not disclosed.
The deal represents one of the larger individual PBSA refinancing transactions in the current market, as regulatory frameworks for multi-occupancy residential properties continue to develop across the UK.
