Member Article

Opal Group properties taken on by Derwent Students

Administrators have appointed Derwent Students to operate four former Opal Property Group student accommodation sites, after the Manchester-based company called in KPMG in March 2013.

Derwent Students will operate the group’s properties in Liverpool and Wrexham, North Wales, as well as sites in Nottingham and Sheffield.

The announcement was made by joint administrators David Crawshaw and Rob Croxen from KPMG on Wednesday, after they were brought in for the six Opal companies which separately owned the four student accommodation schemes, a residential building and a land asset.

Derwent Students currently operate more than 15,000 student units and have a close relationship with universities, as well robust systems and infrastructure.

David Crawshaw, restructuring partner at KPMG, said: “The appointment of Derwent will ensure that the four high quality student accommodation sites continue to attract and support new and existing domestic and international students, and help to meet the strong demand for accommodation near the cities’ universities.

“We have appointed Derwent due to its strong market reputation and to ensure that we continue to provide a high level of service to the students.

“Having stabilised operations at the six companies, we have received significant interest in the portfolio to date. We have appointed Savills to market the assets for sale.”

Martin Corbett, managing director at Derwent, added: “Derwent Students will continue to enhance the student experience through letting and managing these high quality assets to an exceptional standard.

“We will also utilise our status as a housing association and our financial strength to attract interested parties and support the sale process.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .