A major new player in the purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) market has been created by a £400m partnership between Corvette Capital, which originates, finances and manages real estate investments, and experienced PBSA developer Crown Student Living to develop four sites providing over 2,600 student beds.
The high quality projects, in Nottingham, Birmingham, Leicester and Bournemouth, will have an estimated gross development value of around £400m. Work has already started on the 426 bed Nottingham site, which is expected to open in time for the 2023/4 academic year; and initial planning permission has been secured for Birmingham, which is expected to be ready for the 2025/6 year. Two other sites, in Bournemouth and Leicester, are also in the pipeline.
All the developments will have excellent social facilities such as gyms, cinemas, lounges and leisure facilities, break out study rooms and landscaped outdoor spaces. The halls will all be operated by student housing specialists CRM Students, whose accommodation staff will look after the wellbeing of students.
Brotherton Real Estate helped structure the joint venture and will continue to support the partnership in its debt raising for its projects.
The joint venture is the first foray into student accommodation for Corvette, which was formed in 2019 by entrepreneur Paul Bentham and Simon Gordon, a former banker, to finance and develop commercial and residential real estate projects. Crown, which was formed in 2008 by Alan Pulver and David Caplan, has a strong track record of developing highly successful PBSA projects in major university cities including Bristol, Cardiff, Norwich, Portsmouth, Reading and Swansea. Crown recently sold the Jewel Portfolio of three PBSA developments for more than £200m.
Simon Gordon, co-founder of Corvette, said: “The purpose built student accommodation market continues to grow as those studying at British universities increasingly choose safe, well-equipped and socially supportive places to live and study. Working with such great partners as Crown and finding excellent sites in leading university cities, gives us great confidence as we expand into this exciting sector.”
Alan Pulver of Crown Student Living, said: “Partnering with such a forward looking business as Corvette Capital will enable us to grow our portfolio of high quality purpose built student accommodation, serving a market that we have seen grow and expect to expand further.”
