
Property developer – Southern Grove – is looking to create a new student purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) building – at Fish Island – in Hackney Wick – as investors bet on post-pandemic demand for accommodation being strong. Subject to securing planning consent, the Fish Island scheme would include 200 student beds and a gym.
Tom Slingsby at Southern Grove pointed to the capital being home to a string of world-leading academic institutions.
“We’ve got huge confidence in student accommodation as an investment class within London.”
Tom Slingsby, Southern Grove
The Covid-19 pandemic hit occupation levels for a number of student housing operators, as many people did remote learning away from their university campus. But the market has picked up, with firms such as Unite reporting strong demand for the upcoming academic year.
“London is the most under-supplied city in the country for purpose built student accommodation and as such London investment and development opportunities are highly sought after.”
Oli Buckland, Senior Director, Head of PBSA transactions at property agent CBRE