Manufacturer wins £4m furniture contracts for student schemes

Contract furniture manufacturer Deanestor has won a £4m order for kitchen and bedroom furniture for two student accommodation schemes.

The Mansfield company secured the contract from the development arm of Mace for the student housing schemes in Exeter and Cardiff which will provide over 1200 student beds.

Deanestor will supply and fit bespoke furniture for the ensuite bedrooms, studios and penthouses for The Depot in Exeter which is now under construction by Sir Robert McAlpine. The mixed-use, eight-storey scheme will provide 601 student beds, retail space and communal facilities including study spaces, games room and lounge.

Construction is also advancing on The West Wing in Cardiff. Galliford Try is main contractor for the 10-storey development which will accommodate 644 rooms comprising studios, ensuite bedrooms and penthouse apartments. There will be an on-site media room, gym and yoga studio, private dining and study areas.

William Tonkinson, managing director of Deanestor, said: “We are delighted to be working with Mace, Galliford Try and Sir Robert McAlpine on these much-needed and high specification student residences. We undertook extensive product development work with Mace which included a high level of design engagement and the production of sample rooms to create a range of bedroom and kitchen furniture options which can be rolled out on multiple schemes.

“The furniture is designed to maximise storage space, provide a high level of aesthetics for an exemplary student experience, and long-term durability.”

Oliver Gardiner, development director at Mace said: “We visited the Deanestor factory which was impressive and gave us the reassurance that the capabilities, logistics and capacity required for projects of this scale are in place.”

The studio rooms will benefit from fully fitted kitchens and Deanestor is also supplying a total of 118 communal kitchens across the two schemes.

Both sites are due to be completed in time for students to move in for the start of the 2019/20 academic year.

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