Acquisition marks Centurion&rsquo s entry into London, the sixth city within its UK portfolio

[SINGAPORE] Mainboard-listed Centurion Corp has acquired a land site in central London for £ 41 million (S$71 million) to develop a purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA). 

 

The acquisition was a joint venture with United States-based real estate firm Landmark Properties, Centurion said in a press release on Tuesday (Oct 14). Centurion holds 99 per cent equity interest in the joint venture.

 

The London property consists of Euston One at 35-37 William Road and Euston Two at 17-33 William Road.

 

Euston One will be redeveloped into the PBSA which will offer approximately 225 beds. The building will have a basement, ground floor and 14 upper levels, and will contain a mixture of studio units and en suite cluster accommodations.

 

Euston Two will be refurbished to provide approximately 1,090 square metres of office space.

 

&ldquo The London property is ideally positioned for a PBSA, offering strong appeal to students due to its central London Zone 1 location and excellent transport connectivity,&rdquo Centurion said.

 

The proposed PBSA will be within a 10 minute walking distance from notable universities such as Birkbeck College and the School of Oriental and African Studies, as well as University College London Hospital.

 

The acquisition marks Centurion&rsquo s entry into London, the sixth city in its UK portfolio, and follows its successful listing of Centurion Accommodation Real Estate Investment Trust in September.

 

The group noted the &ldquo persistent demand-supply imbalance&rdquo in the UK PBSA market. It elaborated that there is &ldquo limited new supply coming through in the near term despite resilient domestic and international student demand&rdquo .

 

&ldquo London would require over 100,000 additional student beds to meet existing demand, with a student-to-bed ratio of 2.9 after accounting for short-term pipeline,&rdquo it noted.

 

&ldquo Against this backdrop, the group expects sustained demand for quality, professionally managed PBSA,&rdquo it added.

 

The London property is also earmarked to be Centurion&rsquo s first Epiisod-branded PBSA in the UK, and its second worldwide.

 

Epiisod is the premium brand for Centurion&rsquo s PBSA properties, with the first PBSA being constructed in Sydney slated to commence operations in Q1 2026.