Brexit not hurting growth of Purpose Built Student Accommodation

Research by the UK’s largest student accommodation search platform shows a 3.7 per cent uplift in London’s Purpose-Built Student Accommodation bed supply increased.

StuRents says this is equivalent to 3,216 London units for the 2021-22 academic year. 

Sheffield secured 1,850 new beds ands there were uplifts in Brighton (+1,681 beds), Liverpool (1,562), Lincoln (1,176), and Manchester (1,157). 

The PBSA sector continues to attract investors despite the temporary disruptions brought by the pandemic, affecting international students’ ability to travel into the UK. 

According to the latest UCAS data, the number of accepted students from the UK and outside of Europe is on the increase, having risen by 1.4 and 2.4 per cent respectively, with higher tariff providers recording a year-on-year increase of 1.3 per cent in acceptances, sending a reassuring signal to the investment community. 

The number of acceptances from EU domiciled students, however, saw a significant decline of 50.4 per cent. 

While London maintains the largest pipeline of nearly 15,000 student beds, Nottingham, Bristol, Leeds, and Birmingham also enjoy healthy pipelines, meaning students could have access to a greater variety of accommodation options in the years to come. 

Richard Ward, head of research at StuRents, comments: “Despite the uncertainties caused by the pandemic and a significant decline in EU student acceptances, the UK PBSA sector remains a sought-after asset class among private and institutional investors.

“Certain university cities and towns attract disproportionately high volumes of PBSA investment due to a perceived shortage of stock [in those locations], but very often, those markets are far from being undersupplied. With that in mind, we would encourage all those looking to deploy capital to do their due diligence and analyse fundamentals on a case-by-case basis to maximise returns on their investment and avoid disappointment”.