International: Greystar Grabs Johnnie Walker

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Victorian breweries turned mixed-use student housing project Assam Place has officially changed hands.

Former owner and developer Mace has sold the asset, located in the high-stakes property market of London, to Greystar Real Estate Partners.

The property, which fetched $168 million (£110 million) is home to the Hult International Business School and more than 300 high-end student housing units.

Located at the center of the City of London, in Aldgate, Assam Place is a self-contained campus comprising three buildings: Live 1, Assam Studios and Fabbrica. As previously reported, Assam Studios features 29 studio units located in the redeveloped 1848 Victorian breweries come whisky warehouse of world-famous brand Johnnie Walker, Live 1 is a newly-built, 18-story structure comprising 317 student housing units and the project’s many amenities, while Fabbrica blends modern and Victorian industrial architecture and holds the asset’s 37,816 square feet of commercial space, occupied by Hult International Business School university teaching space.

Greystar Real Estate Partners has been on a bit of a student housing shopping spree of late in London, having picked up a $900 million (£600 million) student housing portfolio in early May. As previously reported, the 2,375-bed portfolio comprises three assets and was picked up from Nido London S.à r.l. The acquisitions are in accordance with Greystar’s U.K. goals, as put by Greystar’s U.K. Managing Director, Brett Lashley: “our U.K. business was established in 2013 with the stated intention of buying high quality and well located assets serving world class educational institutions.”