Calico Liverpool student scheme sold to Dubai investor

Niveda Group, a London-based developer and asset manager, has offloaded the 735-bedroom block on Liverpool’s Norton Street to an unnamed private buyer for £61.5m.

The £38m project completed in October 2019 and comprises 220,000 sq ft of purpose-built student accommodation plus social hub areas and a retail area spanning two blocks. The bedrooms are arranged into five- and six-bed cluster flats and there are also 101 self-contained studios.

Calico was designed by architecture studios KKA and, later, Falconer Chester Hall and replaces a series of now-demolished commercial buildings and a former car park close to Liverpool city centre. The main contractor was Create Construction and Fresh Student Living is the property manager.

The scheme lies within the catchment area of three of the city’s universities, including the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University and Liverpool Hope University.

Niveda has other student accommodation schemes, including in London and Sheffield. The company is also building the £36.6m Bowline development off Renshaw Street in Liverpool, its second scheme in the city to be delivered by Create.

Comprising 357 cluster rooms and 47 self-contained studios, Bowline is due to complete ahead of the 2021-22 academic year.

Bhavik Jayendrakumar Shah, director of Niveda, told Place North West the price at which the Calico asset sold “implies that it achieved the tightest cap rate in the Liverpool PBSA [purpose-built student accommodation] market”.

He added: “Calico Liverpool is the first of a pipeline of beautifully designed student accommodation schemes that Niveda plans to deliver over the coming years.

“We are pleased to have passed on our flagship asset to an investor who we are confident shall maintain it well.” No further details were provided about the Middle Eastern investor.

Knight Frank was the agent on the deal. Josh Woolley, an associate in the consultancy’s student property team, said: “This latest deal highlights the strength of the [PBSA] sector and demonstrates its continuing appeal to global investors following record deal volumes in Q1 this year.

“This en-suite cluster-focussed scheme, which is built to a high-specification, is an exceptional investment for this new entrant to the market introduced via Knight Frank’s private wealth team.”