Vita Student targets Southampton
WILMSLOW-based upmarket student accommodation specialist Vita Student has launched another scheme, this time in Southampton.
The £21m development is the company’s seventh and follows projects in Liverpool, Manchester’s First Street, Bristol and Exeter.
The Southampton site is an office block which is being refurbished into 211 studios and communal leisure and study facilities. The apartments are being sold to investors at a starting price of £67,800.
The business was set up by Mark Stott, founder of the Dubai-focused property investment business Select Property based in Wilmslow, and Chris Oakes of Alderley Edge-based upmarket developer Huntsmere.
Chief executive of Vita Ventures, Trevor Moore, said: “The acquisition of Richmond House marks a key milestone for the business as it brings our portfolio value up to more than £100m and our total number of student apartments under construction up to 1,145; a huge achievement in less than two years.
“The UK’s academic strength means that overseas students are flocking to our shores, attracted by the quality of the education and our varied social culture, and this trend is going to continue as government policy is to encourage the predicted rise in international students. Subsequently it means there is a huge shortage of suitable accommodation in all our major cities which we are trying to help rectify.”
