Singapore’s Centurion Makes London Debut With $55M Student Housing Site Buy

Centurion Corp has acquired a development site for a student housing project in central London for £41 million ($54.8 million), marking the Singaporean builder’s first property in the UK capital.

Centurion plans to develop a 225-bed purpose-built student accommodation at the site on William Road in the Euston area near the University of London, the SGX-listed group said Tuesday in a release. The project is a joint venture with US student housing specialist Landmark Properties, which holds a 1 percent equity stake in the partnership to Centurion’s 99 percent.

The news follows last month’s $600 million Singapore IPO of Centurion Accommodation REIT, and the group framed the latest deal as a sign of Centurion’s ability to deploy proceeds from the public offering into fresh developments.

“This acquisition reflects our disciplined capital recycling as we actively reinvest proceeds from the CAREIT spin-off into strategic opportunities in living accommodation assets that enhance the group’s portfolio quality and income visibility,” said Centurion CEO Kong Chee Min.

The Next Epiisod

The seller wasn’t disclosed, but local media reported that the site was put on the market by receivers in early 2024. It lies within a 10-minute walk of the University of London’s Bloomsbury campus, home to University College London, Birkbeck College and the School of Oriental and African Studies, as well as University College London Hospital.

The property comprises 35-37 William Road (dubbed Euston One) and 17-33 William Road (Euston Two). Euston One is to be redeveloped into a 14-storey student housing tower with a mix of studio units and en suite cluster accommodation, while Euston Two is to be refurbished to provide 11,732 square feet (1,090 square metres) of office space, Centurion said.

The London project is the first in Britain under Centurion’s Epiisod student housing brand and the second overall following Epiisod Macquarie Park in western Sydney, with the Australian facility scheduled to begin operations in the first quarter of 2026.

CAREIT plans to acquire the 732-bed Epiisod Macquarie Park at a future date, enlarging the SGX-listed trust’s portfolio to 15 assets with an agreed value of S$2.1 billion ($1.6 billion).

Still Seeking Deals

Centurion’s entry into London represents the sixth city within the Singaporean group’s UK portfolio, which also contains student housing assets under the Dwell brand in Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle.

Centurion manages 43 operational accommodation assets totalling 77,443 beds, including assets owned and operated by the group and those held by CAREIT.

“We continue to evaluate a robust pipeline across our core markets and are prepared to deploy capital where our development and management expertise can create long-term value for stakeholders,” Kong said.