March 2026 - Harbert European Real Estate acquires 535-bed prime Liverpool student housing asset from Blacklight Capital Partners

London, 25th March 2026 – Harbert European Real Estate (HERE), the European real estate investment platform of Harbert Management Corporation (HMC), has acquired a recently delivered purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) asset from Blacklight Capital Partners (Blacklight), developed in conjunction with RoundShield.

Limelight is a modern, institutional-grade PBSA scheme located within Liverpool’s prime ‘Knowledge Quarter’ student catchment area, close to the city’s principal universities (University of Liverpool & Liverpool John Moores). The asset comprises 535 student beds arranged across a mix of studios and cluster apartments. Amenities include dedicated study space, social areas including sky lounge and kitchen, as well as a gym and cinema, with on-site management of the scheme to be retained by Homes for Students under its ‘Prestige’ banner.

Since HERE's establishment in 2002, the platform has invested in over 5,000 living sector units, including for-sale, multifamily / build-to-rent, and purpose-built student accommodation, across core European markets.

Blacklight acquired the original Limelight site from administrators in 2022 following a detailed analysis of Liverpool’s student accommodation fundamentals.  This showed and continues to show a structural undersupply of high-quality PBSA relative to demand from a large and growing student population. The project was delivered by Blacklight in financial partnership with RoundShield, the European credit and tactical opportunities arm of global alternative asset manager Harrison Street. Blacklight took the scheme through planning, design development and construction, with full operation commencing in 2024. Since opening, Limelight has achieved stabilised occupancy at 99% and income performance ahead of underwritten business plan assumptions.

In UK PBSA, demand-supply dynamics continue to support income and capital growth:

·  The UK’s 18-year-old population is expected to grow 23% between 2020 and 2030.[1]

·  Record student demand: UK applicant numbers reached 328,390 in the first half of 2025, a new all-time high.[2]

·  Severely constrained supply as planning restrictions, rising construction costs, and limited financing capacity have pushed new PBSA development to multi-year lows.[3]

·  The UK hosts 17 of the world’s top 100 universities, driving resilient domestic and international demand.[4]

These dynamics have resulted in material rental growth, consistent high occupancy and a widening gap between structurally rising demand and insufficient new supply in certain markets.

James Humphrey, Principal of UK & Northern Europe at Harbert Management Corporation, said: “This acquisition reflects our strategy of targeting high-quality, recently delivered assets at an attractive entry basis in structurally undersupplied markets. Our direct sourcing capabilities, sector expertise and strong local relationships were key to originating and executing this opportunity.”

David King, Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of European Real Estate at Harbert Management Corporation, said: “We believe this investment will deliver resilient, inflation-linked income and is well positioned to weather a potential ‘higher-for-longer’ environment, as continued geopolitical volatility places upward pressure on inflation expectations. Across all our strategies, we remain focused on disciplined deployment and hands-on management, ensuring we create value at both an asset and portfolio level in markets underpinned by clear structural tailwinds.”

Matthew Hunt, Principal and Founder at Blacklight, said: “This disposal crystallises true development value ahead of our underwritten business plan, and has demonstrated the capacity of the Blacklight:RoundShield partnership to deliver high-quality, institutional real estate with global appeal, a strategy that remains active and fully-funded.  We have been impressed by HMC’s obvious capabilities, depth of capital and conviction in the sector, and see them as an ideal long-term owner to drive Limelight’s next phase of growth.  We wish them well as they grow their portfolio in Liverpool, a city we continue to back as a PBSA investment destination”.

Tom Mees, Head of Development at Blacklight, said: “It goes without saying that a project of this scale cannot happen without a sustained team effort and we would like to take this opportunity to thank all parties that have been involved in both the development and operation of Limelight. Homes for Students, and in particular the on-site team at Limelight, deserve a special mention for their fantastic management of the building.”

For more information, please contact Montfort Communications: Tom Roberts / Bella Leathley / hmc@montfort.london

About Harbert Management Corporation

Harbert Management Corporation is an alternative asset manager with approximately $8.1B in Regulatory Assets Under Management as of March 1, 2026. Formed in 1993, the firm is privately owned and serves a variety of institutional investors across multiple asset classes. Investment strategies include European and U.S. real estate, power, seniors housing, growth capital and credit solutions.  For additional information about HMC visit www.harbert.net

About Harbert European Real Estate

Founded in 2002, Harbert European Real Estate (HERE) is one of Europe’s longest-tenured value-add real estate investors. With established offices in the UK, France, and Spain, the platform has invested across market cycles in Western Europe, building deep local networks and strong on-the-ground execution capabilities.

HERE targets investment opportunities across the residential and living, industrial and logistics, office, and retail sectors in Europe’s most liquid markets. The focus is on high-quality assets where active management, repositioning, or development has the potential to unlock sustainable value.

About Blacklight Capital Partners

Blacklight is a boutique investor-developer of best-in-class UK real estate.  It has established itself as a dominant force in Liverpool’s student accommodation market, delivering over 1,500 beds in large-scale, high-spec PBSA schemes that combine strong operational performance with institutional-grade design. It remains active in the city.  Its track record positions the company as a go-to delivery partner for investors seeking scale, quality, and long-term value in the residential living sectors.

 www.blcp.co.uk

About RoundShield

RoundShield is the European private credit and tactical opportunities platform of Harrison Street, a leading global investment manager dedicated to alternative real assets with over €100 billion in AUM. RoundShield provides tailored private capital solutions across mid-sized real estate, infrastructure and financial asset markets in Europe.

www.roundshield.com   

[1] What is the journey to a million?; UCAS

[2] UK universities and colleges see record numbers of UK 18-year-old-applicants; UCAS

[3] The evolving cost of construction in the UK: Trends, challenges, and future outlook; UK Finance

[4] 17 UK Universities Ranked in the World’s Top 100 – QS World Rankings 2026; United Kingdom Education Centre