A former Bath Rugby centre is on the brink of one of the UK’s biggest student property sales, with Iestyn Lewis reportedly in advanced talks to sell his real estate portfolio for £750 million (approx. AU$1.44 billion).
Lewis, 53, now heads Rengen Developments, a Bath-based firm specialising in student accommodation and rental apartments.
Most of Rengen’s holdings are concentrated in southwest England—including prime student hubs like Bath and Bristol, but also span cities such as London, Southampton, Bournemouth, and Newcastle.
The buyer is understood to be a London-based consortium led by Fairbairn Capital, a private equity firm focused on real estate investments.
The Times reported that while both Fairbairn and Rengen declined to comment, sources close to the negotiations suggest the deal is nearing completion. If it proceeds, Rengen would continue to manage the properties under the new ownership in exchange for a management fee.
Mr Lewis has built and sold two portfolios before and is expected to use the proceeds to fund a fresh wave of acquisitions.
The former rugby star, who made 42 appearances for Bath in the 1990s, studied structural engineering at the University of Bath and is a chartered civil engineer.
After retiring from professional sport in 1995, he worked on high-profile London developments such as the Great Eastern Hotel near Liverpool Street Station and the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square.
He launched Rengen in 2006 from his dining room table using personal funds. According to Companies House filings, Lewis remains the majority shareholder in Iesis Limited, Rengen’s parent company.
The company owns dozens of residential buildings, many converted from commercial use. As pressures mount on traditional “mum and dad” landlords, facing tougher regulation and rising borrowing costs, student rents have surged due to tightening supply.
