Australia: Malaysian developer UEM Sunrise has struck a deal to sell its serviced apartments at Aurora Melbourne Central to student accommodation provider Scape Australia for $125 million.
After a proposed sale to Singapore’s Ascendas Hospitality Trust in September fell through, UEM sold the 252 units to Scape along with a ground floor retail space and 10 car spaces.
Scape, the largest student accommodation owner and operator in Australia, plans to operate the units as “premium serviced apartments for young adults including students, graduates, travellers and professionals”.
“We’re confident that Scape will provide a high quality accommodation offering for the community to grow into, right in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD,” said UEM Sunrise chief executive Anwar Syahrin Abdul Ajib.
“The successful sale of the serviced apartment component is a testament to the quality of the project, its prime location and unique offering.”
“We look forward to sharing this magnificent mixed-use development pioneered by UEM Sunrise,” said Scape Australia chief executive Stephen Gaitanos.
The sale was brokered by Colliers International’s Trent Hobart.
Scape recently announced its $700 million acquisition of Blue Sky Alternative Investments and Goldman Sachs’ Atira joint venture, which will be used to seed its new $1.5 billion student accommodation fund backed by Allianz Real Estate and AXA Group.
It is also planning its next acquisition – Urbanest, another big name in student accommodation.</p
