ActivumSG launches £500m PBSA spending spree

Working with student living specialist The Mansion Group, the investor wants to acquire and upgrade existing assets across the country, recognising barriers around new-build development and the UK’s unmet demand for student beds.

As well as Manchester, where ActivumSG already owns 177 beds across Moss Court and City Edge, the JV is aiming to amass a £500m portfolio of PBSA assets in other cities home to Russell Group universities.

The platform currently has £100m of assets under management totalling 972 beds in Cardiff, Exeter, Edinburgh, and Manchester.

A further £600m of assets are in “active diligence”, according to the JV. More acquisitions are expected soon. All assets acquired by the platform would be operated by The Mansion Group.

ActivumSG’s said its strategy is underpinned by “unmet student demand for high-quality accommodation set against challenges related to viability and planning, which is limiting ground-up new development”.

The assets are designed to appeal to both domestic and international students, particularly the growing number of students choosing the UK over the USA due to the Trump administration’s more restrictive visa policy.

Student visa issuances in the UK rose 28% in Q1 2025 compared to Q1 2024.

Saul Goldstein, founder and chief executive of ActivumSG, said: “The UK student accommodation sector is uniquely positioned to benefit from a positive realignment of people and capital flows into Europe, with this confluence making the market a highly appealing destination for international investment.”

He added: “We believe now is an excellent time to be buying assets with strong fundamentals in good locations where we can unlock further potential by improving operational performance and making sustainability-related upgrades. Our initial acquisitions and plans to scale the platform further are proof of this conviction.”

Shankar Ramanathan, founder and chief executive of The Mansion Group Holdings, said: “ActivumSG’s proven track record in European living real estate across both corporate and direct investments will prove immensely beneficial as we look to scale the seed portfolio into a market-leading platform, acquiring, refurbishing/repositioning and aggregating well-located existing PBSA assets.

“Our partnership has been structured to incentivise genuine collaboration and create a true alignment of interests, which we believe will be vital to the long-term success of the platform.”