Acting for Brookfield on the acquisition and refinancing of its student accommodation portfolios

We advised Brookfield/Student Roost on the Scottish aspects of the acquisition and subsequent refinancing of its £295 million Unite purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) portfolio and on the acquisition of the £520 million Enigma student portfolio. 

The work was led by the real estate team with specialist input and advice from our Planning, Construction, Banking and Environmental teams.

Key highlights

• Due diligence of the Scottish property titles of the Enigma portfolio and review of the propco-opco structure on which the properties were held. 
• Negotiation of the Scottish elements of the Enigma acquisition contract and negotiating the financing of the Scottish properties.
• Advised on the refinancing with Bank of America Merrill Lynch and RBC Europe of the eight Scottish properties in the Unite portfolio.
• Handled the real estate diligence, including certifying the titles of the Scottish properties to the lenders’ solicitors and dealing with queries raised on the properties.
• Advised on the Scots law construction documentation relating to all properties.  

Outcome

At 5,400 beds across 15 properties for the Engima portfolio, and 4174 beds across 13 properties for the Unite portfolio, these were some of the largest PBSA transactions in recent years. The deals showcased the cross practice expertise required to service all client needs on large transactions. We were able to draw on our in-depth knowledge of the issues affecting student accommodation in Scotland, as well as our existing knowledge of the properties through previous transactions.