Private student accommodation on the increase

The findings also show that York, Sheffield and Leeds are in the top ten towns and cities in the UK for private bed ownership, coming in third, fourth and sixth place respectively.

Commercial property adviser GVA’s study of the structure of the UK‘s student housing sector analysed 27 of the main student towns and cities, covering more than 70 universities.

Dai Powell, associate in GVA’s Leeds-based planning, development and regeneration team, said: “Cities such as Leeds and Sheffield have seen a lot of major new student development over recent years.

“This activity has continued through the downturn as private sector student accommodation providers have been able to build out their schemes, often as a result of the strength of the sector as an investment class, particularly when underscored by university head-leases.”

Across the UK, with 53 per cent of ownership in the hands of the universities themselves, it is estimated 47 per cent of student accommodation is now privately owned, with the largest of these providers being Unite and UPP combining to make up 35 per cent of the private market.

Roger Lown, senior director and head of student housing at GVA, said: “Our research is the first of its kind in the UK. What it demonstrates is the extent of the private sector market share in student accommodation, and one that continues to grow.

“With the influx of overseas investment into this sector, particularly from the US, we expect the extent of privately owned student housing to grow beyond 50 per cent of total market share well before 2016.”

The research covers almost 325,000 beds in approximately 1,000 schemes across the UK.

The largest private owner in the UK is Unite, with 34,000 beds accounting for 22 per cent of the private market.