Student housing giant adds to portfolio in Nottingham 

Unite Students has secured a consented 270-bed site in Nottingham city centre with an estimated £34m development cost.

The student accommodation developer, which manages 73,000 units, expects to deliver a yield on cost of 7%, as planning has already been approved for the site.

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Unite 700-home Derby Road development

Nick Hayes, group property director of Unite Students, said: “Through this opportunity we are able to cater for the increased number of students wanting to attend the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University, both located in a growing regional city.

“This commitment increases our secured pipeline to over £800 million, its highest ever level, and we continue to see opportunities to add further schemes in London and prime regional markets at attractive returns.”

The newly acquired sites are in a prime location on Lower Parliament Street in the middle of the city centre, and are due to open for the 2024/25 academic year.

Unite already owns and manages around 1,900 student accommodation beds in Nottingham, and is adding to its portfolio in the city with a further 970 beds in the city centre and a 700-bed consented development site in Derby Road. It provides homes to 73,000 students across 173 properties in 25 university towns and cities.

Unite made a £120m pre-tax loss in 2020 as its occupany rate plummeted 88% amid the coronavirus lockdowns. 

Its preliminary results for the 2021 calendar year are due to be published on 22 February,