Russian buys Birmingham student flats for £10.6m
Frosty warnings of a new Cold War between Russia and the UK have failed to hit interest in Birmingham's flourishing property market.
An unnamed Russian investor has just spent £10.6 million on buying a student accommodation block in the city.
AZ Real Estate, a London and Moscow based real estate consultancy, has acquired City Edge on behalf of the private Russian buyer.
City Edge is a block of 136 student apartments a short bus ride from the Birmingham City University's South Campus, which is currently undergoing a £41 million expansion. Fully tenanted, the accommodation was converted from offices in 2016 and includes a ground floor shop that is currently occupied by Guitar Guitar.
Alisa Zotimova, founder and CEO of AZ Real Estate, said: “This represents a significant acquisition with a strong long-term yield thanks to a highly buoyant student market, with limited supply of purpose built accommodation. Birmingham is the UK’s second city, with an attractive 'knowledge economy' that will continue to prosper, giving us confidence in this investment for the future.
“The acquisition is also indicative of an emerging shift in investment trends, whereby clients are willing to forgo traditional trophy assets in favour of those with stronger long-term returns and projectable cash flow, many of which are now outside of the capital.”
Birmingham has fast emerged as a highly attractive and prudent business destination, with PwC ranking it ahead of London as one of Europe’s best investment prospects. In addition to a growing domestic and international student population, which already extends to over 63,105 students across five higher education institutions, the city is set to play a key role in the HS2 Rail project.will become the recipient of Government infrastructure investment by playing host to a pivotal stretch of the landmark HS2 rail project.
City Edge, purchased with a lease of 111 years, is currently managed by Homes for Students. In addition to studio apartments arranged over the first to fifth floors, there are staff offices, bicycle storage and laundry facilities.
AZ Real Estate says it advised the client on the whole process of transaction, including finding the project, negotiating the terms, winning the bid, coordinating lending, legal support and surveys, through to exchange and completion.
