Mercia Real Estate has secured a £32.5m funding package from Paragon Bank’s Development Finance division to support the first phase of its 411-bedroom PBSA scheme in Edgbaston, Birmingham.
Located on Calthorpe Road, the existing office complex contains two buildings connected by a link block. Previously used as offices by HSBC, one of the units will be converted into a 266-bedroom PBSA scheme, with the other proposed as a further 145 bedrooms, currently being submitted into planning.
Mercia Real Estate secured the funding to refinance an existing land loan on the two commercial units occupying the site and to start converting the first site to student accommodation.
“We will be soon launching our student brand in our inaugural PBSA project in Edgbaston, which will enable us to showcase our unique take on high-quality accommodation to students in Birmingham in time for the 26/27 academic year.
“It was a pleasure working with Simon and the Paragon team and we are looking forward to utilising their support to build out our development pipeline and working on this project together.”
Samuel Clark, founder and CEO,Mercia Real Estate
Work has already started on the initial phase of the Birmingham scheme and will be complete by September 2026, enabling students to move in for the 2026/27 academic year.
The development site is close to Five Ways train station, providing a four-minute train journey to both Birmingham New Street and University train stations, as well as multiple bus routes serving both Birmingham University and Birmingham City University, whilst being additionally located immediately adjacent to the city centre.
Since Paragon Development Finance launched its PBSA proposition, it has lent £216m for PBSA schemes across major cities in the UK, including London, Nottingham, Glasgow and Birmingham, funding 3,362 rooms in total.
“It’s been a pleasure to work with Samuel and the Mercia Real Estate team on this exciting new scheme in Birmingham.
Simon Dekker, Senior Relationship Director, Paragon Bank
“We’re seeing more and more demand for high-quality student accommodation and we’re delighted to be able to refinance the site and provide funding for the project to start.”
