You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Sanctuary considers selling student accommodation portfolio
Large housing association Sanctuary is considering the sale of a portfolio of student accommodation.
In a stock market announcement, the 125,000-home landlord said it was weighing up a sale of over 5,600 beds in 21 properties in eight locations across the UK.
Ed Lunt, chief financial officer of Sanctuary, said: “Our thriving student accommodation business – which provides affordable places to live for individuals moving into higher education – is well established.
READ MORE
“[It is] well placed to meet the growing demand for high-quality accommodation for domestic and overseas students.
“The potential sale is being considered as a route to unlocking and recycling capital for new investment in our existing affordable homes and the communities we serve for the benefit of our customers.”
The group’s student business posted revenue of £69.2m for 2023-24, up £8.6m on the previous year.
Sanctuary Students provides 12,000 homes across 39 locations. Its occupancy rate stood at 93% at the end of March.
Sanctuary increased its overall revenue by 15% last year, reaching £1.1bn in 2023-24.
This was its first year of trading after its rescue merger with Swan Housing, which generated £114.2m of revenue for the group.
However, Sanctuary’s underlying surplus for 2023-24 was £41.2m, £21.5m lower than the previous year’s total of £62.7m.
“The primary driver for this decrease is the impact of a full year of Swan finance costs,” the landlord said, adding it expected to see “the benefits of the rescue of Swan” over the longer term.
Sign up for our asset management newsletter
Already have an account? Click here to manage your newsletters
