Member Article

Major £31 million student accommodation development for central Newcastle

A £31 million student accommodation development with around 600 beds is due to take shape in central Newcastle, subject to planning approval.

Student building firm The UNITE Group have acquired an unamed area in which they hope to achieve planning approval with a view to opening the accommodation in 2016.

It will be the first project funded from the proceeds of the Group’s June 2013 share placing and accounts for approximately 25% of the capital raised.

Richard Simpson, managing director of Property for UNITE said: “This acquisition marks good progress with UNITE’s selective regional development programme and is a prime example of how we are investing the proceeds from our 2013 share placing; it is in an excellent central location, well positioned for both Newcastle’s universities and in a market we expect to experience continued growth.

“The fundamentals of the student accommodation market remain strong and will potentially be bolstered further by the Government’s plans to remove the student number cap in 2015, which could itself lead to an increase in enrolments of up to 12%. UNITE is well positioned for continued growth both through its existing, strong portfolio and new regional developments.”

UNITE currently own four student properties in Newcastle, with over 1,000 beds.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .