Salford firm makes a Fresh Start in Yorkshire
FRESHSTART Start Living, the Salford-based company which specialises in bringing disused buildings back to life, has completed its first deal in Yorkshire after buying Provident Financial’s former headquarters in Bradford.
The company has said that it plans to convert the nine-storey Colonnade Hall 1960s office building into 200 student properties with en-suite bedrooms, creating a scheme with an end value of £6.9m.
The student halls will range in size between 105 sq ft and 180 sq ft. Each floor will house 24 student rooms, four kitchens and communal areas. The ground floor will also house an extra eight rooms.
The en-suite student bedrooms are currently being sold from £27,500 to investors and are expected to bring in rents of £80-£85 per week. Work is expected to begin on site in January 2012 and be complete within three months.
Stuart Cook, acquisitions manager at FreshStart Living, said: “FreshStart is expanding its portfolio of student accommodation, and we have further acquisitions to announce in the coming weeks.
“Student property is an asset class that rarely becomes available to individual investors and student rentals have remained robust with a recorded yearly growth of 5% over the past six years.”
FreshStart has already completed the refurbishment of two former local authority tower blocks – Madison Court in Salford and Bispham House in Liverpool. It is currently developing Montgomery House student halls in Manchester and the former Trafford Press and nearby Empress Mill buildings in Old Trafford.
