Student accommodation specialist Empiric Student Property has agreed the sale of Emily Davies House in Southampton to Far East Orchard Ltd for £13.9M.

The sale price reflects a net initial yield of 5.7%, with pricing ahead of 30 June book value.

Once the sale concludes, Empiric will have generated £71.5M from its disposal programme of noncore assets, the company said.

Emily Davies comprises three-to-four-bedroom apartments with shared bathrooms and kitchens and is currently configured to provide 180 beds. The property is within walking distance of Southampton Solent University and the city centre.

“Against the backdrop of wider macro-economic uncertainty, this sale demonstrates the continued attractiveness and resilience of purpose built student accommodation,” Empiric Student Property chief executive Duncan Garrood said.

Separately, AXA IM Alts has acquired Vita Student Lewisham Exchange, a 758-bed student scheme in Lewisham, London. The acquisition, on behalf of clients, has been made from Vita Group, which has developed nearly 10,000 beds in the UK since 2012 and which has been retained as the asset's operator under its Vita Student brand.

Constructed in 2021, the scheme comprises a mix of fully equipped studio and cluster rooms across 35 storeys. Especially popular with international students, it has achieved 100% occupancy since opening at the start of the 2021-2022 academic year.

The transaction is AXA IM Alts’ first PBSA acquisition. It manages more than €25B of residential assets globally, including more than €3.5B of student accommodation assets, spread across eight countries.

“We have a high conviction in the UK PBSA sector, reflecting its structural and demographic drivers, as well as countercyclical characteristics," AXA IM Alts Head of UK, Ireland and Emerging Europe Transactions Stuart Carr-Jones said.