Singapore’s UOL Enters UK Student Housing Market With $59M Brighton Buy

UOL Group has agreed to acquire a student housing complex in southern England for £43.5 million ($59 million), becoming the latest Singaporean builder to bet on the education-related living segment in Britain.

SGX-listed UOL is buying Varley Park, a complex of student residential halls comprising 771 operational beds across 22 blocks, from the University of Brighton, the group said Thursday in a release. The deal includes a long-term leaseback agreement with the public university, which enrols more than 17,000 students at the institution 50 miles (80 kilometres) south of London.

The acquisition is UOL’s first-ever purpose-built student accommodation asset and fourth investment property in the UK, where the group has the Pan Pacific London hotel and commercial assets at 120 Holborn Island and 110 High Holborn in the capital. The builder controlled by the Wee clan behind United Overseas Bank sees PBSA as a resilient asset class offering strong fundamentals and growth opportunities in key markets, said CEO Liam Wee Sin.

“We also believe that we are able to leverage our strengths in hospitality and residential development in the broader living sector, comprising PBSA, build-to-rent and serviced apartments as it is a natural extension of our core business model,” Liam said.

Banking on Beds

Varley Park sits on more than 7 acres (2.8 hectares) of land near the University of Brighton’s Falmer campus and the University of Sussex, with transport links to both schools. The complex’s amenities include modern conferencing facilities and a dining hall.

UOL’s purchase price for Varley Park equates to £56,420 ($76,524) per bed. A 10 percent deposit was paid on signing of the sale contract, with the balance payable on completion in the third quarter of 2025.

The deal comes two months after fellow Singapore developer Far East Orchard announced the final closing of its maiden private fund focused on PBSA in Britain, with the vehicle having secured £96 million ($129.5 million) in committed capital.

To date, FE UK Student Accommodation Development Fund has committed more than 35 percent of the raised equity to two PBSA developments, a 273-bed project in Glasgow and a 239-bed project in Manchester.

Another Lion City player, Q Investment Partners, formed a £100 million UK student housing joint venture with Malaysian builder Gamuda Land last July to develop a 299-bed project in southeast London, marking the private equity shop’s 11th UK asset and first in London.

That deal came after QIP in 2023 formed a JV with Singapore-based Soilbuild Group for a £200 million UK student housing platform seeded with two developments in York and Newcastle.

Myanmar Exit Gain

UOL this week posted a 58 percent year-on-year rise in attributable profit to S$205.5 million for the first half of 2025, crediting strong performance from property development and investments and other gains from the disposal of Parkroyal Yangon in Myanmar.

Overall revenue rose 22 percent to S$1.55 billion as property development revenue climbed 40 percent to S$731.7 million on higher progressive revenue recognition from Pinetree Hill, Watten House and Meyer Blue in Singapore.

Liam said UOL would continue its disciplined approach to portfolio management, project execution and capital deployment in what he termed “uncertain times” marked by changing market conditions and a new global trade order.

“Our strong results reflect the resilience of our diversified portfolio and the continued confidence in Singapore as a stable and trusted market, even in times of heightened uncertainty,” he said.