MCR continues student digs spending spree with Njoy acquisition

The investor’s Flow Student platform now has an 8,000-bed portfolio following the purchase of 800 units in Manchester and Leeds.

MCR Property Group has further demonstrated its conviction in the student market with the acquisition of Njoy Student Living.

The deal sees Aneel Mussarat’s firm take control of Carr Mills in Leeds, a 301-bed PBSA scheme, as well as Langdale Hall, Langdale Courtyard, Carfax Court Flats, Naburn and Welby Street, Hathersage Road, and Q3 Apartments in Manchester.

MCR has accelerated investment in PBSA throughout 2026 and is targeting 15,000 beds.

In June, the company acquired Foundry Court and Trinity Student Village in Preston, adding 862 beds to Flow Student. This was followed by the acquisition of Archways, Leadmill Point and Westhill Hall in Sheffield, adding a further 1,163 beds.

Nick Lake, fund director at MCR Property Group, said: “The strategic logic is straightforward. We know these assets, we know these cities and we know where we can add value.

“There is also a full-circle element. MCR previously owned a number of the properties and we are now bringing them back into the Group as part of a much larger and more ambitious student platform.”

MCR plans to invest millions in renovating the Njoy assets and in some cases increase their density.

“We see opportunities to create additional rooms and apartments as we invest in and reposition individual assets,” Lake added.

“We are not interested in simply accumulating beds. We want density, operating scale and good real estate in cities where we have conviction. Njoy gives us an established business and local operating capability, while Flow brings capital, technology, marketing, asset management and the infrastructure of a national platform.”