Huddersfield County court may be turned into student flats
Judges and legal workers at Huddersfield County Court may be on the move.
Developers have applied to convert Huddersfield’s civil court – Queensgate House – into 156 student flats …
British universities boast record number of international student admissions, but EU numbers down
Fresh figures reveal a record number of international students have applied and been accepted to take degree courses at UK universities, however the number of students from EU countries has dropped.
Ucas, the university admissions service, said 2,090 more international, non-EU students applied to start undergraduate courses this autumn, an increase of 2.8% on last year.
The total number of applicants hit 76,380 – the highest on record, reversing the drop in numbers seen in 2016, while the numbers of overseas students accepted on to courses increased by 5%.
Applicants from the EU dropped by 4.4% to 51,185, some 2,375 fewer than in 2016, reversing a year-on-year trend that has risen since 2012 …
620-bed Belfast student accommodation given green light on appeal
Plans for a new multi-million pound Belfast student housing development have been approved on appeal following initial council refusal.
The Irish News can reveal that planning permission was granted on Tuesday for a 620-bed development at Donegall Street, close to the new Ulster University campus, due for completion in 2020.
The land, which is currently a HandyPark car park, is set to to be transformed into a ten-storey student building, as well as associated amenity and ancillary support accommodation and 54 lower ground floor parking spaces, according to the newly-approved application …
Unite secures new £500m debt facility
Unite Group has secured a new £500m unsecured debt facility from HSBC and RBS that provides additional financial headroom for its development pipeline and greater financial flexibility.
The facilities will increase the debt maturity by 12 months and with an initial margin of 145 basis points, will reduce the average cost of debt, when fully drawn, to 3.9% from 4.2% currently.
The new loan facilities comprise a five year £350m revolving credit facility and a one-year £150m bridge loan, replacing a £280m secured debt facility. Unite, which provides student accommodation, intends to replace the bridge loan in the first half of next year with longer term unsecured debt to further extend its maturity profile and diversify its finance sources …
A 4th multi-storey student apartment block could be on its way – Derby
A Derby street could be set to get a fourth multi-storey block of student apartments.
This week, plans were submitted to Derby City Council by Godwin Developments to create the eight-storey development in Agard Street, which is already the focus of a number of projects to create new student accommodation.
This latest scheme, which would be in the Friar Gate Conservation Area, would be built on a site currently used as a car park, between Northgate House and the Derby Chiropractic Clinic …
New student rooms plan for Cambridge’s most famous college
One of the city’s most famous colleges wants to build a new block of student accommodation inside Cambridge’s conservation area in a bid to “foster a sense of community”.
Plans have been submitted which would see 59 student rooms with kitchen and living facilities provided on Grange Road …
Plans in for 15 storey student development – Sheffield
Plans have been submitted for a multimillion-pound regeneration scheme in Sheffield city centre which would create 850 rooms for students across four buildings, the tallest of which would be 15 storeys tall.
Litton Buccleuch, a joint venture between Bakewell-based Litton Property Group and Edinburgh-based Buccleuch Property, is behind the plans for the former Stokes Tiles Centre site, which sits at the junctions of Moore Street, Fitzwilliam Street and Thomas Street off The Moor.
Buccleuch Property represents the commercial property interests of the Duke of Buccleuch, one of the largest private landowners in Europe …
Unite Students has exchanged contracts to acquire a development site in Leeds
Student accommodation developer Unite Students has exchanged contracts to acquire a development site in Leeds on a subject to planning basis.
The site, acquired from Regional REIT, is located in the city centre near to the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University, and could accommodate more than 1,000 students.
The total development cost is expected to be around £80m and will be funded from internally-generated sources. The new building is expected to be open for the 2020 academic year and deliver a yield on cost of 8%. Regional REIT achieved a significant mark-up on the site, having acquired it in 2016 for just £1m before this £10m sale …
Property Partner completes UK’s largest ever property crowdfund – Newcastle
The UK’s largest ever property crowdfund has completed today via Property Partner, the world’s first property stock exchange. Individual investors together raised £2,992,800 of equity to purchase a state-of-the-art Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) block in central Newcastle*.
The landmark raise demonstrates investors’ continued desire to invest in the property sector and PBSA in particular. PBSA is the UK’s top performing property asset class, delivering higher average annual total returns (11.8 per cent) than residential (7.8 per cent) and commercial (7.4 per cent) property in the past five years …
Permission granted for £30m Portsmouth student housing
A bank is being ripped down to make way for a £30m skyscraper student tower block in Portsmouth city centre.
Construction is now underway on the 19-storey redevelopment that will house 256 students after the developer won planning permission …