Unite Group plc (LON:UTG), the UK’s leading owner, manager and developer of student accommodation, has received resolution to grant planning permission for its 913-bed student accommodation development in Middlesex Street in London. The consent remains subject to approval from the Greater London Authority, which is anticipated in the next few weeks.
The site occupies a prime location in central London and will provide much-needed accommodation for students. The scheme will generate a development yield in line with Unite’s target returns for University Partnership schemes in London and is expected to be delivered for the start of the 2021/22 academic year. The development will be funded from net proceeds of the February 2018 placing and committed banking facilities.
The application has been supported through planning by Kings College London, with both parties working towards a long-term nomination agreement. The development reflects Unite’s strategy of aligning its property portfolio to the best locations and high-ranking universities where student numbers are growing fastest.
Nick Hayes, Unite Students Group Property Director, commented:
“London is the UK’s largest student market but also one of the most difficult in which to deliver new supply. Middlesex Street creates new supply in a strategically important location where there is a shortage of affordable, high quality accommodation. The scheme adds to our London pipeline, which already includes the 678-bed forward fund development at First Way in Wembley, due for completion in 2020.”
