| UK students still answering the 'call of the campus'
Normal student life may have been impacted massively by the coronavirus pandemic, with universities closed, and teaching moved online, but the 'call of the campus' still has an irresistible appeal, if the state of the UK's purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) market is anything to go by.
New research from Cushman & Wakefield reveals that the PBSA sector has been remarkably resilient over the last year with 24,800 new beds entering the market for the 2020-21 academic year – a net increase of 21,000. And as the market grows, so do student expectations of what to expect from their 'digs' with more than half of rooms now providing en suite facilities. The national development pipeline meanwhile currently stands at 115,000 beds and approximately 58 per cent of these have planning permission.
"Students have made it clear that they are intent on continuing their university journeys and going away to study still has an incredible value in providing important life experiences," says Sarah Jones, Partner in Higher Education Public Sector Advisory at Cushman & Wakefield.
Other property markets weathering the Covid-19 storm well include the UK healthcare sector, which according to global property adviser Knight Frank, attracted record investment volumes of GBP2.7 billion in 2020, up 55 per cent on the previous year, and German office properties, which Catella Group says are proving to be 'largely resilient to the crisis, despite the continuing high level of uncertainty and the resulting decline in take up'.
UK commercial property meanwhile has seen a slow start to the year according to Colliers’ latest Property Snapshot, which reveals GBP2 billion of investment in February, with portfolios accounting for five of the six largest deals by value. "It’s been a quiet couple of months for the investment market, in fact it is the slowest start to a year since 2012," says Oliver Kolodseike, Deputy UK Chief Economist at Colliers. "However, it isn’t all doom and gloom with the country showing some resilience to this current lockdown."
On the London office market scene, Mitsubishi Estate London says its 8 Bishopsgate development is set to become the UK capital's 'most sustainable tall building' with development manager Stanhope incorporating a range of features to achieve both low embodied carbon and for the completed building to be low-carbon in operation.
Elsewhere in London, LaSalle has announced practical completion of 60 London, Wall, a 10-storey office-led development in the City. And the first tenants have been announced too, with AllianceBernstein signing a lease for 52,800 sq ft on the 7th and 8th floors of the building. "The combination of natural light, terraces and flexible floorplates make 60 London Wall a perfect fit to deliver a dynamic, best in class, workplace experience for our employees," says Martin Fradgley, International Admin Services at AllianceBernstein.
And finally, in a guest feature this week, Ian Ivory and Sam Narula – partners in the London office of BCLP – examine a recent trend in the commercial real estate sector – the acquisition of fund and asset management platforms by investors rather than portfolio acquisitions or fund investments.
Property Funds World
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