Member Article

Yorkshire-Australian partners invest £240m in student housing

A partnership between Manor Properties and Australian infrastructure firm, Lend Lease, will deliver £240m of investment into UK student accommodation.

As part of a wider £1.5bn scheme to build 40,000 units in the next seven years, the two companies hope to create five new housing complexes across the UK under the new brand, Qdos.

Yorkshire-based Manor Properties and its partner company will develop the sites in Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and Hull, with hopes of expanding into more towns and cities, including Oxford, Nottingham and Edinburgh, in the future.

The student accommodation will be run like hotels, the firms said, with a concierge-style service, 24-hour security, drop-off laundry services and shops, as well as leisure facilities.

Manor Property’s chair, William Addy, said: “Qdos Student Homes will operate these developments so that they set a new benchmark for student housing across the country.

“By combining first class accommodation and on site services with a social network which will fulfil demand for a new standard in the student sector, Qdos will establish new levels of customer service for both undergraduates and graduates.

“Our objective is to deliver a revolution in student living with up to 40,000 units at 70 sites nationwide between now and 2020.

“Given the scale of our plans, partnering with Lend Lease was the logical step. Lend Lease has both a proven track record and capability to assist us in the delivery of the next generation in student accommodation.”

Adding to Mr Addy’s comments, Tom Spilsted, head of commercial management at Lend Lease, said: “We are excited to be working with Manor Properties and Qdos to deliver student accommodation of the highest standard. The Qdos model will raise the bar for this sector.”

Construction is expected to begin on the 3,500 units across five sites early this year, and the partners are currently drawing up plans for a further 10 to 15 sites in Central London.

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