Blackstone required buy-side transaction advisory services to assist with their pursuit of the iQ student accommodation platform, the UK’s largest private student accommodation business.
Working collaboratively, Savills corporate finance and student accommodation teams prepared a detailed investment case for the UK student accommodation sector, before supporting Blackstone in a detailed underwrite of the iQ real estate portfolio (28,162 beds across 28 UK locations). This was underpinned by knowledge drawn from Savills comprehensive in-house demand, supply and pipeline databases.
By providing a robust and well-researched sector thesis, alongside a detailed real estate analysis, supported by high-quality market data, Savills provided Blackstone with all of the information they required, giving them the confidence to bid strongly on the portfolio. Blackstone went through two rounds of bidding before ultimately committing to exchange the transaction within a 24-hour period.
The transaction is reportedly the UK’s largest ever private real estate transaction.