Student accommodation partnerships set to explode
Student accommodation providers are receiving an unprecedented number of approaches from universities wishing to discuss estate transfer deals, sector insiders claim.
Rob McClatchey, managing director of Barclays Infrastructure Funds (BIF), told EducationInvestor that there are now “many more universities looking at the accommodation partnership model” than he’s seen before. He listed Durham, Bath, Bristol and Southampton as being among the universities currently considering private sector partnerships for their residential estates.
Such partnerships see firms team up with universities to build and operate their on-campus developments via lease or concession arrangements. This allows universities to outsource the cost of upgrading their residential estates to the developer, allowing them to direct more funding into improving their courses and academic facilities.
Universities have found this to be an increasingly attractive option at a time when capital budgets are being cut and the rise in tuition fees is forcing institutions to improve their facilities.
UPP, which is owned by BIF, is the biggest company employing this model in the UK. But its partnerships are still limited to just 11 universities …