Students deserve to be treated like customers – CLV boss

THE boss of burgeoning Campus Living Villages believes the secret of its success over the last six years is the way it treats students like customers.

Australian Rob Moyle, who is operations director for the company, helped to the launch the company when it first delivered a £2.5m refurbishment programme at the University of Salford in 2009.

CLV’s growth since then has been spectacular and earlier this month opened a new £81m Peel Park Quarter development in Salford.

The company now has properties in Birmingham, Bournemouth, Colchester, Greenwich, Leeds, London, Luton, Newport and Sutton Bonington, as Moyle, whose background is in the hospitality industry.

“I am from warmer climes Down Under,” said Moyle, 46, who hails from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. “But I love living in the North of England.

“We now have 10,900 student beds and are looking to expand.

“But we are looking only for the right opportunities. We don’t want to grow just for the sake of it. Our model works very much around the partnership approach with universities and is motivated by our background in hospitality.

“When people think of halls of residence of old, you hear stories of dingy rooms and damp walls. But we are all about creating an great experience for students.

“We believe in treating them like customers, because that is what they are. It’s really important for us to provide a vibrant community.

“We call ourselves Village for a reason because we are trying to create a village-type environment.”