Unite Students has bought its first London site in five years in Middlesex Street, E1, where it will build a £195m student block with around 1,000 beds.
The development has a projected yield of 6.25% and is due to open in time for the academic year in 2020/21.
The acquisition is subject to achieving a planning consent and is being supported through planning by King’s College London, with a view to securing a long-term nomination agreement.
London is home to more than 300,000 students and has three of the world’s top 25 universities. The London student market remains significantly undersupplied, with only 81,000 purpose-built beds currently in operation.
Unite has more than 9,500 beds in London, including partnerships with universities covering more than 5,500 beds.
Richard Smith, chief executive of Unite, said: “This is our first major development in London since 2013 and represents an important return to the city with the support of one of the UK’s leading universities. This reflects our strategy of building long-term partnerships with the UK’s top universities in strategically important locations where there is a shortage of affordable, high-quality student accommodation.”
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