Crosstree buys £150m Tottenham Hale student site

Development will total 431 bedrooms.

Crosstree Real Estate Partners has acquired a £150m GDV purpose-built student accommodation development in Tottenham Hale, Green Street News can reveal.

The scheme at 29-33 The Hale is expected to complete ahead of the 2027/2028 academic year, and totals 431 bedrooms and amenity spaces, with roof terraces giving views across London.

MTRE, on behalf of PMG Estates and Jigsaw Asset Management, first marketed the site as a forward funding opportunity in 2021. The site was eventually placed under offer to a listed developer and contractor in 2022, though the deal fell apart by the end of the year.

Updated planning consent to comply with the new fire safety legislation was granted in 2023. After a second sales process, the site went under offer to the same developer contractor with backing from US private equity, however the acquisition failed to progress, and Crosstree stepped in at the start of the year.

Developer RG Real Estate has been appointed to deliver the fully-electric development, and will take a low-carbon, sustainable approach, targeting BREAAM Excellent.
The scheme is being taken forward by HCD Architects and will feature interiors by Holloway Li.

The site is adjacent to Related Argent’s £600m regeneration masterplan, the “Heart of Hale”, and forms part of the wider Tottenham Hale Opportunity Area, which is set to deliver over 5,000 homes, improved transport links and enhanced local facilities.

The investment was made on behalf of its Crosstree Special Situations Fund III, which had a final closing last year. Crosstree has been targeting the student accommodation sector, taking advantage of attractive supply-demand imbalances in London, counter cyclical fundamentals and the pullback of forward fundings from core investors.

Will Perrott, principal at Crosstree Real Estate Partners said: “Crosstree is excited to create an institutional grade, highly specified 431‐bed student property with excellent connectivity, taking advantage of attractive market dynamics.”

Nick Hayes, managing director of RG Real Estate said: “We are delighted to announce our first transaction acting as developer of The Hale for Crosstree Real Estate Partners.
“London has a chronic undersupply of student beds and this development will provide much needed accommodation in an established student location.

“We have worked collaboratively with Crosstree to optimise the design and incorporate a number of low carbon and broader ESG initiatives. The asset will be a complimentary addition to their high quality portfolio and we look forward to working together to deliver this exciting project.”

The investment follows Crosstree’s recent partnership with Bouygues UK on Phase 4 of the Hallsville Quarter in Canning town and its successful planning consent for 820 student beds in North Greenwich beside The O2, which was approved in February 2024.

31 July 2024 | Jessica Middleton-Pugh, David Hatcher | Green Street News