GCP Student Living completes acquisition of 'Podium' in London

Student residential asset-focussed real estate investment trust GCP Student Living announced on Monday that its purpose-built private student accommodation ‘Podium’ in London was now operational and fully occupied in respect of the 2017-2018 academic year.

The company had announced that it entered into a conditional forward purchase agreement to acquire Podium - a property offering 180 beds in the same locality as its existing ‘The Pad’ asset adjacent to Royal Holloway, University of London - on 15 April 2016.

It confirmed on Monday that the contract to acquire it had now gone unconditional, and as a result, the company had now completed the acquisition of this property.

Podium was acquired for a purchase price of £29m, the board said, with the acquisition funded by its available resources.

“The purchase by the company of Podium through a future contractual arrangement has enabled it to secure an asset in London at an attractive price relative to acquiring properties which are already operational,” the board said in its statement.