The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Student apartments in £6.7m move
A prominent block of student flats in central Dundee is undergoing a purchase and refurbishment project valued at £6.7 million.
The Courthouse Apartments in Johnston Street have been bought by Maven Capital Partners, a leading UK private equity and property manager, after its previous owner went into administration.
The block is undergoing a complete internal refurbishment, resulting in a superior 116-bed development.
The purchase price and refurbishment cost of the development, targeted to reopen under the name of Marketgait Apartments for the start of the 2016/17 academic year, amount to £6.7m.
The Courthouse Apartments were owned by Pride Dundee Ltd, whose directors were Bruce Linton and Angus Robb.
Pride Dundee went into administration in 2014, with its only asset the student accommodation block valued at £3.75m.
Administrators FTI Consulting took over the running of the company and put the property on the market.
Secured creditors were owed almost £2.9m by Pride Dundee and held security over all assets, but were unlikely to be repaid in full.
After lengthy negotiations with various parties, the purchase of the property was secured Maven.
The new owner said that despite boasting around 15,000 full-time students, Dundee has only 48 individual studios available to rent across the current available accommodation.
Its new Marketgait Apartments will almost treble that number, and Maven said it will tap into a market which is significantly undersupplied.
The property’s proximity to both Abertay and Dundee Universities is seen by Maven as an advantage.
The transaction, supported by finance from RBS, represents Maven’s fourth venture of its kind in Scotland.
Colin Anderson, Maven’s investment director, said: “This significant investment will greatly enhance the quality of the city’s accommodation provision.
“It will also help the universities attract and retain the best students from the UK and indeed further afield.”