PBSA block on the market in hugely popular student destination

A 450-room purpose built student accommodation block has come to the market in one of the country’s most popular university towns.

Knight Frank has brought to market 5 Circus Street, located in the heart of Brighton.

Acting on behalf of Scape Living, which is backed by the Dutch pension fund APG, Knight Frank is guiding offers in excess of £67m for the long leasehold interest; the scheme is currently let to Kaplan Brighton Ltd until September 2040.

The 450 student rooms are divided into 81 studios, 366 ensuite rooms and 3 one-bed flats, as well as 1,130 square feet of retail space, currently occupied by White Cloud Coffee Roasters.

The 2.4-acre Circus Street site is situated in central Brighton, a two-minute walk from the University of Brighton’s city centre campus and a 25-minute bus ride away from the University of Sussex.

The scheme is currently 100 per cent let for the 2023/24 academic year.

Merelina Sykes, joint head of student property at Knight Frank, says: “Brighton has one of the highest student ratios of all university towns and cities across the UK, with students making up 11.7 per cent of the total population. Despite being one of the highest density student markets in the country, PBSA in Brighton only caters for around 34 per cent of full time students – meaning demand heavily outweighs supply. As a result, schemes like this one offer an excellent opportunity for investors, and we expect to see strong interest following the launch.”