[SINGAPORE] Far East Orchard announced on Thursday (Apr 3) that it would acquire a purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) site in Manchester for £10.9 million (S$19.1 million).
The 275-year leasehold site, which was granted planning permission a year ago, will be developed into a 239-bed PBSA property. It is expected to be completed in 2028.
This move marks the group’s maiden entry into Manchester, and brings its portfolio of existing and pipeline PBSA assets to over 4,900 beds.
The buyer, Plymouth Grove Development, is a subsidiary of the group, held through a limited partnership with the private student accommodation development fund FE Student Accommodation Development (FESAD).
This will be the second development project undertaken by FESAD, which was set up in August 2024. Its previous acquisition took place in 2024 in Glasgow, Scotland, where the PBSA site is to be developed by 2026.
The group’s wholly owned subsidiary Far East Orchard Investments (UK), Aurum Investments (a wholly owned subsidiary of Woh Hup Holdings) and an unrelated third-party investor hold 50 per cent, 21.4 per cent and 28.6 per cent in this Manchester development, respectively, through FESAD.
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The group chief executive officer of Far East Orchard, Alan Tang, said: “The venture into Manchester is an exciting move into a new UK city for the group’s PBSA business segment, and we are pleased to continue this journey with Woh Hup through the fund we established in 2024.”
He added that the group’s student accommodation portfolio is a key pillar in its strategy to build a resilient lodging platform underpinned by sustainable and recurring income.
The total cost of development of the site, including its purchase price, is estimated to be around £47 million, based on current estimates and barring unforeseen circumstances.
The acquisition is not expected to have any material impact on the consolidated net earnings per share and consolidated net tangible assets per share of Far East Orchard for the current financial year ending Dec 31.
Shares of Far East Orchard closed 1 per cent or S$0.01 lower at S$1.02 on Friday.
