The FE UK Student Accommodation Development Fund has been launched by Far East Orchard Limited with a targeted aggregate commitment of £100m.

Half of this initial commitment has been provided by Far East Orchard Investments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Far East Orchard.

The fund has also been seeded with a development site in Glasgow where a 273-bed PBSA asset will be constructed. This land was acquired by Far East Orchard in March 2024.

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The real estate investment firm has been increasingly moving into the PBSA space and in April 2024 acquired a 49% stake in Homes for Students, the UK’s largest independent PBSA operator.

Commenting on the launch, Far East group CEO Alan Tang pointed to a current shortfall of 580,000 student beds in the UK opposed to predicted university places.

“Having been in the UK PBSA business since 2015, we have established a track record in the market and remain confident in the sector given its strong fundamentals, robust student demand, and structural supply-demand gap,” said Alan.

“We are heartened by our investor’s confidence in us, which has led to a promising first closing.”