Maven opens the taps on student accommodation developments in Glasgow

Maven has purchased a prominent office building in Glasgow City Centre for redevelopment as student accommodation. The acquisition and development of Mitchell House on Bath Street, will see the empty office building extensively refurbished to provide studio accommodation for students over six floors with generous common space on the ground floor. In conjunction with Calmont Group, the development will be finished to a very high standard and provide accommodation for 70 students.

Mitchell House is well-located for Glasgow’s main universities and benefits from being close to excellent transport links. Its location is also one block from Sauchiehall Street, which is regarded as the main centre for student nightlife in Glasgow. The projected development costs are approximately £5.5m and the works are scheduled to be finished in time for the 2015/16 academic year.

Ramsay Duff of Maven Capital Partners said: “We are very pleased to be working alongside Calmont Group on this exciting project. There is still a shortfall of good quality purpose built student accommodation in the city and this development will help to satisfy that demand.”

The development of Mitchell House marks Maven’s second venture in the student accommodation sector within the city. In late 2013, Maven raised £6.8 million to fund the purchase and conversion of Claremont House in Glasgow into a new 94 bed student residence. Located in Glasgow’s thriving West End and only a stone’s throw from Glasgow University, Claremont opened in time for the 2014/15 academic year and has since enjoyed high levels of occupancy.

Glasgow has one of the most undersupplied purpose-built student accommodation markets in the UK. With occupational demand on a firm upward trajectory and an increasing number of overseas students coming to the city to study, the student accommodation sector is producing positive rental growth and has demonstrated its resilience throughout the economic downturn.

The underlying appetite for higher education coupled with a structurally undersupplied market led to interest from potential buyers for Claremont House, which has just been sold to a specialist European property fund for £8.37 million.

Ramsay Duff, added: “The student accommodation sector continues to provide good returns for investors, given the continued strong demand from occupiers and institutional purchasers. This is particularly the case in markets that are under-supplied with purpose built student accommodation such as Glasgow and we were therefore delighted to have secured such a high quality and well-located development as Claremont House for Maven investors. The development opened on time, is now well-let and the sale has provided attractive returns for our investors within a short investment period.

These projects demonstrate Maven’s strategy of providing ‘Real Estate Private Equity’, backing experienced developers, and helping to realise good returns for all stakeholders.”

Maven’s property team has completed a number of other commercial developments across the UK and continues to offer a range of opportunities to investors who are looking for well-researched property deals which can generate attractive returns, typically with a development gain element.