342-bed Cork PBSA Acquired by Harrison Street

Harrison Street, an investment management firm based in the US, have acquired a 342-bed student accommodation in Cork, Melbourn Point.

The acquisition marks Harrison Street's eleventh PBSA asset in Ireland, and their fourth in Cork. Their Irish portfolio now consists of over 3,500 beds.

Melbourn Point was completed prior to the start of the 2021 academic year, and is currently being managed by Yugo.

The asset consists of 335 ensuite rooms and 7 studio flats. The building also offers communal spaces, including a gym, study spaces, cinema room, and games room.

Cork is one of the largest cities in Ireland and home to two of the country's major universities: University College Cork (UCC), and Munster Technological University (MTU). Between the two universities there is an approximate total of 37,000 full-time students.

Melbourn Point is located adjacent to the MTU central campus, and is accessible to UCC via a 10-minute bus. It is also just a 15-minute bus journey to the city centre.

45% of the students currently residing at Melbourn Point are UCC students.

Paul Bashir, chief executive of Harrison Street's European business, said, "Cork is a vibrant, growing city within Ireland and has seen its student population expand by 2.5 percent every academic year since 2018, yet it suffers from an undersupply of PBSA properties.

"The strong rental demand Melbourn Point has garnered from university students across the city reflects Cork students' deep desire for high-quality, purpose-built student accommodation.

"Harrison Street is pleased to continue to deliver much-needed modern housing to an underserved university market, and we look forward to identifying further attractive opportunities and expanding our presence in the Irish student housing market for our investors and partners."