UK’s First Co-Living Scheme Sold By Lender For £60M
The first large-scale, purpose-built co-living scheme in the UK is on the verge of being sold by its lender more than three years after the owner went into administration.
Private equity firm Henderson Park is in talks to buy The Collective Old Oak Common in north west London for around £60M, Green Street News reported.
That is below the £75M that the building was put on the market for last year. It is less than half of the £125M at which the property was valued in 2018.
The scheme has 551 bedrooms as well as lounge areas, kitchens, a restaurant, a bar and a spa.
It was opened in 2016 and was the largest co-living scheme in Europe at that time.
The Collective went into administration in fall 2021. It was unable to meet liabilities when income from its open schemes fell during coronavirus-related lockdowns, and it suffered from expanding its development pipeline in the UK and U.S. too fast.
Deutsche Bank and a fund managed by Gravis Capital were the main secured lenders to The Collective. Vehicles managed by Gravis are leading the sale, Green Street said.
A sale was planned in 2023, but fire safety remediation work slowed the process down.
Henderson Park has $14B of assets under management in the UK, Europe and U.S. In August 2023, it raised £1.3B, or $1.6B, for its second European value-add fund.
Its first fund invested regularly in the UK rented-residential sector. The firm is currently selling completed build-to-rent schemes in London valued at £300M.
