Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises Wellcome Trust on £2 billion joint venture with Goldman Sachs

A team from Clifford Chance London have advised the Wellcome Trust on a £2bn joint venture with Goldman Sachs and Greystar to form a new student accommodation company with a portfolio of 23,500 beds across 54 sites in the UK. The new company, Vero Group, will consolidate the holdings of the three parties, bringing together iQ, owned by the Wellcome Trust, and Prodigy Living, owned by Goldman Sachs and Greystar. Goldman Sachs will own a stake of close to 70% in the new joint venture company and Wellcome close to 30%, with Greystar having a minority investment

The Clifford Chance team that advised on the investment was led by corporate partner and Co-Head of the Global Real Estate Sector, Adrian Levy supported by senior associate Maiko Adachi, associate James Lloyd-Thomas with partner Alastair Mordaunt and associate Elizabeth Sinclair providing antitrust advice, partner David Saleh providing tax advice and specialists in employment, pensions and real estate finance.

Adrian Levy said: ''This transaction further highlights the firm's real estate M&A expertise in the student accommodation sector, having advised Brandeaux Student Accommodation on the sale of its UK student property portfolio, Liberty Living, to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). The activity in the UK student accommodation market has been intense over the last year or so and we are delighted to have represented our clients on so many key market transactions."