UK: Student accommodation manager and developer Unite is acquiring an 800-bed development scheme in central Glasgow, increasing its portfolio in the city to 3,000 beds.
The scheme is still subject to planning approval, which is expected to granted during H1 2024. It will cost £95 million to develop and is expected to deliver a yield on cost of around 7.5 per cent. It will be funded from capital recycling through disposals, the company said.
Unite has not named the scheme but it is understood to be part of the High Street goods yard site masterplan in Glasgow.
“The new development will help address the acute shortage of student accommodation in Glasgow, which is home to three institutions within the UK’s top 75 universities,” Unite said in a statement. “The group expects to deliver the scheme as a university partnership with at least half of the beds to be let on a multi-year nominations agreement to a leading university.”
Unite is targeting completion in time for the 2026//27 academic year.
Unite’s investment director Michael Burt said: “Our development pipeline now totals 5,600 beds in the strongest university cities, as we work to address the urgent need for new student housing at a time when the private rental sector is in retreat.”
