A prime, fully stabilised student accommodation portfolio in central Southampton has been launched for sale for £25m+, offering investors a rare opportunity to acquire a high performing PBSA asset in one of the UK’s most supply constrained university cities.
BNP Paribas Real Estate, acting on behalf of St Katherine Investment Group, has brought the Urba-Life Portfolio to market. The £25m+ collection comprises three freehold schemes - Marland House, The Courtyard, and Queens Gate - delivering 220 studio apartments, all 100% let for the 2025/26 academic year, alongside six fully let commercial units. It has an average rent of £233 pw.
The assets, developed and refurbished by St Katherine Investment Group between 2014 and 2016, are professionally managed by Homes for Students and generate a net annual income of £1.88 million. All three buildings occupy strategic locations close to the University of Southampton and Solent University.
Southampton continues to strengthen as a leading academic hub, home to 34,000 students, including more than 10,000 international students. Despite sustained enrolment growth, the city faces a tightening supply pipeline, with just over 700 new beds approved or under construction and an estimated 3,000 bed shortfall by 2028. The University of Southampton has also risen in the UK and global rankings, now 17th nationally and 33rd globally (QS World University Rankings 2026).
Nick Robinson, Residential Capital Markets at BNP Paribas Real Estate, said: “Opportunities of this scale and quality are increasingly scarce. The Urba-Life Portfolio delivers reliable, fully stabilised income with clear potential for further value creation. Southampton’s strong demand fundamentals, limited supply pipeline and resilient rental performance continue to make it one of the UK’s standout PBSA markets.”
