Key Takeaways
- KKR acquired CBRE IM – CBRE Group for $300.0M.
- Sector: Real Estate, Social Infrastructure.
- Geography: United Kingdom.
Analysis
KKR and its European living sector platform Inhabeo have acquired a seven-asset UK student accommodation portfolio from Curlew Student Trust II for approximately £230 million ($300 million). The portfolio was sold by funds managed by CBRE Investment Management.
The portfolio provides 2,179 beds across seven UK cities with strong university demand. Built between 2020 and 2022, the purpose-built student accommodation assets feature modern en-suite units, high-quality amenities, and strong occupancy levels. Roughly 80 percent of tenants are undergraduates and more than 50 percent are domestic students, reflecting the growing appeal of affordable, high-quality schemes in the UK market.
Inhabeo, launched in 2023 as KKR Real Estate’s European living platform, will manage the portfolio. With this deal, Inhabeo’s portfolio now exceeds £800 million in residential investments, spanning PBSA and build-to-rent assets.
The acquisition is being made through KKR’s European Core+ Real Estate strategy and associated funds. It follows a string of PBSA investments by KKR, including a 544-bed development near the University of Warwick earlier in 2025, an 819-bed scheme in Bristol, and a 494-bed portfolio in Greater Copenhagen in 2024.
Similar transactions underscore strong institutional appetite for student housing. Brookfield Asset Management acquired a controlling stake in Student Roost, one of the UK’s largest PBSA operators with more than 23,000 beds. Blackstone, through its BREP Europe fund, expanded its iQ Student Accommodation platform, which already manages over 30,000 beds across the UK. GIC and Greystar have also partnered on major PBSA portfolios in continental Europe, including Spain and Germany, reflecting the sector’s pan-European growth.
Demographic trends continue to fuel demand. The UK has experienced record domestic university enrolments alongside increasing international student numbers, creating structural undersupply of high-quality student housing. This demand, combined with predictable cash flows, positions PBSA as a highly attractive real estate segment for global institutional investors.
By acquiring this £230 million ($300 million) portfolio, KKR strengthens its UK footprint and advances its strategy of building a diversified living sector platform across Europe, targeting resilient asset classes such as student housing and rental accommodation.