Green light for £50m city centre student development

Unite Students, the manager and developer of student accommodation, has received planning permission to build a £50m 573-bed property in Manchester city centre.

The consent takes Unite’s total development pipeline to be delivered in the next three years to 6,500 beds, providing further visibility in our earnings growth outlook and builds on our strategy to work in partnership with mid to high-ranking universities.

The site at New Wakefield Street is close to both the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, and is in an established area for student accommodation.

Unite currently has five properties in Manchester, providing a home for more than 2,300 students which will grow to 2,900 on completion of the new scheme further enhancing operating efficiency in the city.

The building will open for students starting university in 2020.

The scheme will be funded by internally generated sources and is expected to achieve a yield on cost of 8% in line with our targets and to contribute 1p per share to EPRA earnings once complete.

Richard Simpson, group property director of Unite Students said: “Manchester has the largest student population in the UK after London with two high quality Universities, making it a strong market for Unite Students. We are very proud to build on our presence in such a fantastic city.”