SLI pays £17.4m for Glasgow student housing project

Standard Life Investments (SLI) has bought an accommodation scheme for Glasgow School of Art students in a £17.4 million deal.

Glasgow School of Art's Blythswood House has been acquired by SLI. Picture: John Devlin

The fund manager’s Long Lease Fund acquired the 216-room Blythswood House, on West Regent Street, from Regional Reit, the property investment trust managed by Glasgow-based London & Scottish Investments.

Blythswood House opened in September 2015 and was purpose-built for Glasgow School of Art, which has a 25-year lease on the building.

Richard Marshall, head of secure real estate at Edinburgh-based SLI, said: “Blythswood House is one of the premier student accommodation properties in Glasgow. This investment fits with SLI’s Long Lease Fund’s strategy of acquiring prime commercial property let to good covenants and benefitting from long, index-linked income.

“The growing student accommodation sector is performing well and we are confident that Blythswood House will deliver the stable returns required by our investors to help match their long term liabilities.”

Regional Reit acquired Blythswood House, a former office block, in 2014. Inglis Howie Property Consultants advised the firm on the sale to SLI, which was advised by BNP Paribas Real Estate.

• Standard Life has appointed Stephen Lochhead, former vice-president of talent and resourcing at consumer goods giant Unilever, to the new role of global talent and organisational development director.

Sandy Begbie, the life and pensions group’s chief people officer, said: “We place a great deal of importance on talent, which is critical to the future growth and success of our business, and the appointment of Stephen into this newly created role reflects that. This is a new global role that will ensure a single strategic direction for Standard Life.

“Stephen’s knowledge of operating in global businesses and of how to operate within a matrix structure will help us focus and align ourselves to deliver our hugely important talent and organisational development agenda.”