The UK residential property experts have seen the student rental market grow exponentially; it’s a constantly expanding, affluent sector, backed by parent guarantors so provides a reliable and a proven, lower risk investment.

The market is incredibly resilient with Sandstone’s occupancy rates averaging above 95% and annual rental increases reaching 10 to 15 per cent per annum.  With location the number one driver for rental accommodation, and scarce housing stock available, this is what’s driving the rental price increases.

As trends indicate that the student rental accommodation sector is ascending towards even higher growth, there has never been a better time to consider investing in buy-to-let student accommodation.

The Sandstone Residential REIT is founded on a portfolio of over 3000 highly coveted traditional Georgian and Victorian properties in across ten prime university cities in the UK. This represents a net asset of GBP 1 billion.

Over the past 12 months, the REIT has grown by 65 percent with additional investment in stock growing the portfolio by a further 126 percent within the first quarter of 2023.

With maximum gearing of 50 percent, Sandstone is expecting to see returns of 17 percent per annum, on average. This presents a highly attractive asset class for large institutional investors and private investors across the world. The investment fund is listed on Guernsey Stock Exchange and is FCA regulated.

Focusing on the same low risk with high return properties that have stood Sandstone in good stead over the last 25 years, REIT investors can benefit from the strong residential market and a booming rental market. It also offers clients diversification and has lower running costs.

Investing in the Sandstone Residential REIT is also an investment in a commitment to reducing carbon emissions. As property accounts for half of all carbon emissions in the UK, Sandstone is working with the Energy Saving Trust to tackle carbon emissions from its portfolio and to become 100 percent carbon positive, both as a business and within the REIT offering.

Peter Grant, founder and chairman of Sandstone Group, comments: “The student rental accommodation market is growing. Rental prices are heading on an upwards trend, and cities are fast running out of accommodation to meet the growing demand from prospective tenants. There really has never been a better opportunity to consider investing in student accommodation to bring more supply to a hungry market.

“We wanted to create an investment opportunity that is beneficial for our clients, students and the planet. Through our Residential REIT, our clients have access to an attractive asset class that allows them to invest in a hands-off tax efficient way that is completely carbon positive.

“We have a highly qualified team, and the REIT is FCA regulated and ISA and pension friendly, offering clients unique tax benefits including zero corporation tax, reduced capital gains tax and lower fees for management, furnishing and lending.”

Established in 1997, Sandstone Group has helped clients from 40 countries across the world to build portfolios of residential properties in the UK, which are then rented to students. To find out more about the Sandstone Residential REIT, please visit: www.sandstoneuk.com/register

The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you originally invested.

*All stats have been taken from Sandstone’s own findings. Find out more here or watch this recent webinar on this topic.