The Collective’s former assets set to list in £300m IPO
The assets of the collapsed co-living brand The Collective are set to float on the London Stock Exchange in a £300m initial public offering …
News Articles
Confidence returns to UK student market
£72 billion UK student market sees development volumes and deal numbers bounce back as students return to campus.
Over 30,000 purpose-built student bedrooms were completed last year, more than double the 14,000 achieved in 2020 when the pandemic slowed construction. In total, these new additions lift the overall number of purpose-built student bed spaces in the UK to over 700,000.
A further 21,000 beds are estimated to be in the pipeline for delivery in time for the 2022 academic year. Once built, our calculations suggest this will take the total value of the UK student market to £72 billion …
BTR sector hits record level of investment
Build-to-rent (BTR) had its biggest year on record in 2021 as investors poured £4.1bn into the sector …
ASK4 joins forces with Spike Global to bring residents closer together
ASK4 has formed a strategic partnership with Spike Global, the leading property management and resident engagement software provider.
The partnership will mean that ASK4 is able to provide its clients with market leading property management and resident engagement technology solutions.
Spike has a proven track-record for delivering real, tangible results launching and operating property software worldwide. Spike’s resident engagement portals, Spike Living and Spike Student, can be white-labelled and completely tailored to the needs of each development, enabling building operators to create and manage thriving communities, where residents can form meaningful connections. Spike portals also allow residents to stay engaged with up-to-date news and events, book amenities, report maintenance issues, and even get involved with the wider local community by introducing them to local attractions and services …
Unite Students – Trading Update and Q3 Fund Valuations
Unite Students, the UK’s leading owner, manager and developer of student accommodation, today announces an update on current trading. We also provide quarterly property valuations for the Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund (‘USAF’) and the London Student Accommodation Joint Venture (‘LSAV’) as at 30 September 2021.
Richard Smith, Chief Executive of Unite Students, commented:
“We have seen record demand for UK universities from UK school leavers and non-EU students, particularly for the strongest universities to which we are strategically aligned, although higher grade attainment and restrictions around international travel as a result of the pandemic have impacted occupancy in a small number of cities. There remains a strong outlook for student demand driven by demographic growth, rising participation rates and increasing demand from non-EU markets. This underpins our confidence in a rapid recovery in earnings and total returns, driven by sustainable rental growth, our substantial development pipeline and further opportunities to deploy capital.” …
SPH reports S$92.9m net profit for FY21
SINGAPORE Press Holdings (SPH) has swung into the black, with a net profit of S$92.9 million for the financial year ended Aug 31, 2021 (FY21), amid a slight increase in total revenue from continuing operations, and fair value gains on investment properties.
It reverses the net loss of S$83.7 million in the previous financial year, which had included S$232 million in fair value losses on investment properties.
A final dividend of three Singapore cents per share was proposed. If approved, SPH would pay a total dividend of six cents per share in FY21, up from 2.5 cent in FY20 …
International students are worth £28.8bn to the UK
A new report shows the benefits of international students – with one year’s intake worth £28.8bn to the UK economy. The report – named ‘The costs and benefits of international higher education students to the UK economy’ – has been published by Universities UK International (UUKi) and the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) – and includes research from London Economics. The analysis reveals that the benefits of hosting international students significantly outweighs the costs of international students, including their use of public services – which are put at £2.9bn …
24,800 new student beds enter UK market
New research from Cushman & Wakefield reveals that the purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) market has been remarkably resilient over the last year – despite Covid-19. The research reveals that there are 24,800 new student beds in the UK. The pipeline also remains strong. The national development pipeline currently stands at 115,000 beds – and approximately 58% of these have planning permission. Birmingham has the largest regional pipeline – at 6,700 beds.
There are currently 681,000 student accommodation beds across the UK. The new student beds entering the market for the 2020/21 academic year represents a net increase of 21,000 beds – with around 3,800 beds leaving the market, improving the overall quality of stock. Quality student accommodation continues to be on students’ minds – demonstrated in the price of a new university en-suite bed increasing by 17% annually compared to 2019/20.
The Cushman & Wakefield report shows that 58% of student beds are now en-suite, and the number of rooms let by operators directly to students increased by 119% over the last seven years. The private sector has delivered the majority of the new beds this year (85%) and now owns 51.4% of beds in the UK …
Significant student housing shortages reported in the Netherlands
Many students planning on going to the Netherlands this year for study will face a challenge in securing housing, and this challenge looks like it will intensify in the next few years. The issue could well affect international enrolments, since foreign students will of course think twice before applying to Dutch universities if they know it is possible that they won’t find suitable housing …
International students flocking back to London find themselves in a race for scarce housing
INTERNATIONAL students are returning to the British capital this month, overcoming pandemic-era hurdles such as quarantine. Their enthusiasm means one old problem for new Londoners – the capital’s fierce rental market – has also gotten harder to navigate.
Applicant registrations have almost doubled in the last couple of weeks, said Amelia Greene, a director in the prime lettings team at estate agent Savills Plc. International students recently made up 70 per cent of applicants through property websites for the east London district of Canary Wharf, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. Some agents are finding this swell of interest is starting to push up rents …