The Project

Demand for student accommodation in the towns and cities around many of the country’s leading universities and colleges is driving huge growth in this sector of the market. Bespoke new builds and conversions of existing buildings are proving popular vehicles for investors.

PBC has been appointed to act on behalf of a large institutional investor as fund monitoring surveyor to safeguard the company’s interests in one such project in Reading. This new build project, which represented a very high standard of student accommodation, is now completed and is fully tenanted, and is being managed by Crown Student Living.  With three further student accommodation developments under construction in Portsmouth, Cardiff and Norwich, PBC has also been retained as fund monitor on these projects.

PBC Scope

For Portsmouth, PBC is working alongside contractor Osborne plc who are delivering a 26-storey, 573-bedroom accommodation block with ancillary social spaces. This project was complete in August 2018, to coincide with the start of the next academic year.

The Cardiff development is part new build, part conversion of existing an commercial office building. On this project PBC was working alongside main contractor Midas Construction. The 380-bed building with ancillary social spaces was also complete in August 2018, to coincide with the new intake of students.

The conversion of two landmark towers in the centre of Norwich town centre, previously owned by Aviva, is the last of our three projects. This 704-bedroom development was complete in August 2019.

With immovable deadlines, to ensure the accommodation blocks are completed for the start of the new academic year, everyone involved has had to work collaboratively and to think ‘outside of the box’.