The Unite Group and the Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund (USAF) recently announced the sale of 11 of its student accommodation properties for a total of £178.6m in two separate transactions.

In the larger of the two transactions, Liberty Living paid £152m for nine purpose-built student accommodation properties comprising of 3,810 beds. The properties are spread across four different markets in Southampton, Cardiff, Preston and Stoke. Of the nine properties sold the Unite Group owned four and the other five were owned by the USAF. The assets were sold for more than their December 2007 valuations of £88.4m. These four properties made up £91.1m of the sale to Liberty Living, an increase of +3.1%.

In the second deal, USAF is selling two properties in Huddersfield, comprising of 627 beds, to Swanbourne for £26.6m. The sale is expected to be completed by December 2008. Upon completion of both transactions USAF will receive £87.5m, this is a +2.6% improvement on the December 2007 valuation of £85.3m.

Mark Allen, chief executive of the Unite Group, told PIN: “These sales have been completed ahead of December 2007 valuations, providing clear evidence of the resilience in the student accommodation sector. As well as paying down existing debt, the proceeds will enable the company to take advantage of attractive opportunities as they arise and also provide additional investment capacity within USAF.”