Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co (WLG) has advised Empiric Student Property plc (Empiric) on its acquisition of premium student accommodation property, St Andrew's-based Ayton House.

Empiric acquired the Luxembourg holding company owning the freehold of the 241-bed property for £26 million, together with its UK operating company subsidiary. It includes a mixture of studios and four and five-bed en-suite apartments designed to a very high specification.

The WLG team was led by corporate partners Michael Lacey and John Reed with assistance from corporate associate Emily Troubridge.

Paul Hadaway, Chief Executive of Empiric Student Property plc, commented: "Ayton House is a fantastic addition to the Empiric portfolio and marks the Company's first acquisition in St Andrews, a university town which is held in extremely high regard by both domestic and international students.

"Ayton House is one of only two purpose-built student accommodation schemes in St Andrews, which continues to suffer from a significant supply and demand imbalance. This acquisition is in line with Empiric's investment criteria and returns profile."

Scots law advice was provided by Morton Fraser LLP and Luxembourg law advice by Loyens & Loeff.

WLG's Investments Funds team is a leading practice with a particularly strong reputation for closed ended listed funds, advising issuers, investment management houses and the investment banks and brokers that advise them. During 2015, it acted on more than half of the IPOs and significant secondary issues for listed investment companies including acting for Winterflood on the largest deal of the year, the £800 million IPO of Woodford Patient Capital.