The money will used to fund the acquisition of new development sites between now and early 2011 in the capital which are intended to be developed for delivery from 2012 onwards.
Unite directors said the opportunities for more student accommodation in London are "compelling" and "there is potential to acquire well-located sites at attractive prices which can then be developed to meet the ongoing shortage of modern purpose-built student accommodation in the city."
Phil White, chairman of Unite, said: "The supply of good quality, well-located student accommodation continues to lag behind demand. Across the UK, there is only sufficient purpose-built accommodation to house two out of three first year or overseas students, but there is only one bed space for every three students from these groups in London.
ADVERTISEMENT"In this context, the Board believes that London represents a particularly attractive market for expansion, with over 250,000 full time students but only 42,000 purpose-built bed spaces.
"We intend to use the proceeds of the placing to acquire sites which will form the core of the company's development programme for completion from 2012 onwards. We believe that the Company is well positioned to take advantage of these opportunities while the current market conditions prevail."
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