A student property portfolio in Nottingham worth £3.25m has been purchased by Nottingham-based MS Estates on behalf of a London-based institution.

Located in prime student rental areas in Lenton and the Arboretum, the nine multiple occupancy properties will accommodate more than 50 students and are expected to generate more than £264,000 per annum in rental income, with yields of 8.1%.

According to recent headlines, the demand for student accommodation in Nottingham is very high. In fact one in 12 homes in the city are bracketed as student accommodation, equivalent to 11,000 student homes in Nottingham all told.    

“We were approached by the seller of the properties directly,” said Michael Sahota, of MS Estates. “I think that he was a little surprised to learn what the market was like and what he could achieve.”

He added: “We told him that we had clients who would purchase the portfolio and do so with no fuss.”

The seller of the nine properties – a respected landlord based in Nottingham – has continued to refurbish the properties over the last decade, returning them to their original brickwork and finishing to a high standard with quality furniture and fittings.

“This sale reflects the increasing student expectation of housing in recent years,” Lucy Barlow, lettings manager at MS Estates, commented. “More of them are willing to pay a premium in rent for better quality accommodation, and this buyer will not only provide that in the finish of the houses but in the management of them also.”

Sahota, who runs the MS Estates business – based in Lenton – with his wife Satty, handled the acquisition personally and his company are now looking for other opportunities in Nottingham for a range of high net worth clients.

The above deal is not quite the biggest MS Estates have handled. In 2013, Sahota brokered a deal for a £5 million portfolio of 16 properties capable of housing 99 students.