Member Article

Over £28m for York student accommodation project

Aviva Commercial Finance Ltd has boosted its student accommodation lending investments by reaching a financial close on a significant deal with The University of York.

The company, which operates out of Rougier Street, York, has provided a £28.5 million loan to Student Accommodation Provision Three LLP, a joint venture between Evans Property Group and the University of York, who will be building and developing a new residential campus for the University.

James Pitt, development director at Evans Property Group, said: “Having completed the award winning Langwith campus in September last year we are delighted to be working again in partnership with the University on the third student campus at Heslington East. This latest transaction demonstrates our continued approach to providing innovative funding solutions for the delivery of student accommodation.”

Graham Gilbert, the University’s finance director, said: “This transaction secures a balanced underpinning for our portfolio of residential JV investments and will secure an important addition to the stock of high quality residential accommodation already available to our students.”

The University of York is in the middle of an unprecedented period of expansion and renewal.

Since 2000, it has invested in 20 new buildings on the original Heslington West campus and completed the first and second phases of a £750m campus expansion at Heslington East. Entailing entire new colleges, teaching and learning spaces, laboratories, research facilities and a new sport village, the huge investment has made it an attractive destination for students, academic professionals and researchers alike.

Kevin Sale, commercial finance director at Aviva, said: “The funding of this project is another strong addition to our student accommodation lending portfolio. It represents a good long term investment for Aviva and for our annuity customers, and it will benefit the community and local economy of York, with which Aviva has close links.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by David Gatehouse .