The Collective receives go-ahead for new cultural hub
The Collective has been given the go-ahead for a new co-living and cultural development in Westbourne Park …
Downing submits plans for 2,224 co-living scheme in Manchester
Downing has submitted plans for a mammoth co-living scheme on First Street in Manchester.
The proposed 2,224 bedroom scheme will be built across multiple buildings including a 45-storey tower on plot 11 of First Street, which Downing bought from Patrizia last year for around £18m.
The design by Manchester favourites SimpsonHaugh also features 44,000 sq ft of amenity space.
The plans include 11 different types of accommodation, ranging from studio apartments to five-bedroom homes …
The Collective’s Reza Merchant wants to change the world
At a company retreat for The Collective in Oxfordshire last November, a recent hire at the co-living company addressed the room joyfully: “There is nowhere else anybody wants to be right now. Everybody wants to be here.”
Such a sense of belonging is exactly what Reza Merchant, who set up The Collective a decade ago, wants to encourage. “There was such an incredible feeling in the air,” Merchant recalls. “A real sense of community. This is the feeling we are striving for.”
Merchant wants that sense of community to extend beyond his staff …
BRISTOL PARTNERSHIP AND PLANNING APPROVAL FOR BRISTOL DEVELOPMENT – The Unite Group plc
The Unite Group plc, the UK’s leading owner, manager and developer of student accommodation, has received resolution to grant planning permission for its 416-bed student accommodation development in Bristol city centre, incorporating the conversion of the former Georgian hospital building into 62 rented residential homes (‘Old BRI’).
The site occupies a prime location in Bristol city centre and will provide much-needed accommodation for students when delivered for the start of the 2021/22 academic year. Unite is in advanced discussions with the University of Bristol for a long-term nomination agreement on the scheme.
This forms part of a wider University Partnership discussion with the University of Bristol covering around 3,000 beds. This will include a large proportion of Unite’s existing operational assets in the city following targeted investments and the Company’s 650-bed development in close proximity to the University’s new Temple Quarter campus …
Proposed changes to Non-Domestic Rates in Scotland – What does this mean for the student accommodation sector?
An amendment has been tabled by the Labour Party at the Stage 2 Reading of the Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Bill that could change how purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) is taxed in Scotland.
There is potential for this to materially impact operating costs of PBSA and consequently value. Talk of this bill raising £18 – £19 million through Scottish PBSA suggests a new charge of between £500 – £600 per bed per annum, not dissimilar to the circumstances in Belfast. This could have a material impact on valuation (reductions of £10k per bed) or if passed on to students, could see rent rises by over £10 – £15 per week.
“The application of non-domestic rates to private PBSA in Scotland is likely to have a material impact on investment in new schemes in Glasgow, Edinburgh and elsewhere and result in significant rent rises for students. The potential for unintended consequences to Scotland’s world class education system deserves a more considered and joined up approach from its politicians.”
David Tymms – Chair, BPF Student Accommodation Committee …
Ruling the Roost: How Student Roost became a PBSA powerhouse
Student Roost has graduated with flying colours since its previous incarnation, as the student arm of Avenue, was snapped up by Brookfield four years ago.
At the time of the £410m takeover, its portfolio comprised 6,000 beds across 14 properties. Today, having opened its flagship Hollis Croft scheme in Sheffield last September, it has more than 50 properties, housing almost 20,000 students in 19 UK cities with a development pipeline of 3,000 beds, making it one of the biggest student portfolios in the country.
In an exclusive interview with Property Week in the striking, sky-lit mezzanine area at Hollis Croft, chairman Tim Butler, chief executive Nathan Goddard and chief investment officer Stephen Rigby reveal how the business has managed to grow so quickly. They also outline ambitious plans to grow the portfolio, currently worth more than £2bn, to 25,000 operational beds by 2023 …
As the UK’s largest student accommodation provider, Unite Students has spent years helping young people thrive in new situations and help them manage the big ‘Leap’ to university life. Over the last few years, our insight reports have identified a significant gap in student expectations of what life will be like living away at university, and the reality they find once they actually arrive.
To support young people, Unite Students have used their insight and student resilience research to develop Leapskills, a programme through which we can help to better prepare prospective students and young people for living away from home. Drawing on video content and a digital game, it introduces a number of student life scenarios to provoke group discussion on conflict resolution, problem solving and gives a general insight into shared living …
Moda Angel Gardens could just be the healthiest place in Manchester to live
The new 36 storey rental apartments in the Noma district boast a private dining room, library and even a cinema room, plus they’ve got some pretty cool neighbours with Hero Training Clubs open on the ground floor and Pot Kettle Black set to open soon.
Now, it seems living there may even make you healthier with their extensive list of health and wellbeing services, events and perks …
CA Ventures hires Phillips for £200m a year BTR push
CA Ventures has recruited Tim Phillips from Lothbury Investment Management to spearhead its launch into the build-to-rent sector in Europe.
Phillips, who as a director at Lothbury led the fund manager’s expansion into the residential sector, will be head of residential, Europe, at CA Ventures.
The company, which recently launched into the European student accommodation market, has committed to initially investing in the development of £200m in BTR and PRS assets in Europe per annum, ramping up to £380m by 2025 …
Kenyatta opens London Stock Exchange to mark Kenyan listing
A Kenyan company has listed a bond on the International Securities Market of the London Stock Exchange, an occasion marked by Uhuru Kenyatta.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta opened the London Stock Exchange (LSE) for trading on 20 January, as a celebration of the listing of a Kenyan property development bond on the LSE’s International Securities Market (ISM).
Kenyatta was joined in the ceremony by LSE chief executive David Schwimmer and United Kingdom Secretary of State for International Development Alok Sharma, as well as Edward Kirathe, the chief executive of Acorn Holdings, the company which listed the bond …