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Student Accommodation

Our Student Accommodation Team provides a wide range of legal services for developers, contractors, operators, investors, education institutions and lenders in this sector.

Our services

We help our clients through the whole process – from getting planning permission, developing the site, funding, construction, estate management, portfolio management, all the way through to tenancy management when students move in.

We’ve worked in the industry since the early 90s and, during that time, we’ve built a national reputation for our work. We’re confident our level of experience in the world of student accommodation would rival any other law firm.

We’re also fortunate to work alongside a brilliant team of litigators who are ready to help if things go wrong.  They can advise on all aspects of student occupational arrangements, including enforcement and possession proceedings, as well as issues arising out of construction.

The growth of the student accommodation sector

We’re part of an exciting industry – one which has seen both remarkable growth and significant change over the last 30 years.

Our team has built on the foundations of the early days, when developers were, by and large, dependent on Nomination Agreements with universities.  Now, we more frequently see multiple investors and operators in the market who let directly to students. Nomination Agreements are still used – and we still advise on them. But, more often than not, our operator clients are now student-facing businesses, with the responsibilities that come with that.

Alongside this, we’ve also seen the structure of the deals we work on change enormously. We now work on transactions ranging from developers exercising an option and forward funding with an investor, to portfolio sales, PFI-esque arrangements, and traditional debt funded projects.

Our expertise

We started working with Unite Group in the 1990s, so we’ve witnessed the growth of the industry first hand and we’ve been standing alongside the industry’s biggest player every step of the way.

The depth and breadth of our knowledge and experience means we’ve established ourselves as one of the leading advisers in the industry, and we’re really proud of the work we do.

Our team of Student Accommodation specialists offer expertise from across the whole of our business, including Real Estate, Construction, Planning, Banking, Regulatory, Employment, Commercial and Corporate departments.

We work together so that we can flex our service to meet your needs and you’ll benefit from greater efficiency and years of hands-on experience.

Insights

Comment & Opinion

Living Horizon Scanner: September 2024

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Tom
Peel

Partner

Head of Construction & Engineering

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Karl
Anders

Partner

Housing Management & Litigation

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Will
Cousins

Partner

Real Estate

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