Last month, construction intelligence company Glenigan reported that new contracts for student accommodation development projects had emerged as one of the most promising residential sectors. Work starting on site on student accommodation schemes increased by 34% on the same period a year ago.

The Student Accommodation Report from Cushman and Wakefield aligns with this trend, highlighting growth and investment in the sector, with a record 2.2m full time students studying at UK higher education providers in 2021/22, and demand for beds outstripping supply.

What is causing the growth of the sector?

Student numbers are at record highs, driven by a rise in the number of 18-year-olds in England (the ONS predicts an increase of 5%, or 30,000 people, in 2024), and increased demand from international students outside the EU. In addition, there is a continued trend towards postgraduate study, with 17 cities seeing postgraduate numbers grow by more than 300% in the last five years.

CBRE’s Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) report suggests falling A-level grades and tighter entry requirements could be an additional growth factor, driving an increase in the number of students attending ‘lower and medium tariff universities’, resulting in additional demand for student accommodation in these locations. Currently, half of the demand pool nationally is located in just 12 cities and towns.

How we support clients within the student accommodation sector

Student housing is an important part of a student’s university experience – for many, it is their first experience of living away from home and in a lot of cases, accommodation is the biggest cost a student has, accounting for around 45% of their monthly living expenses. We understand the importance of providing a setting that allows students to flourish – both in terms of their health and well-being as well as their studies.

The clients we work with within the student accommodation sector are committed to delivering first-class facilities for their residents, from providing increased social and amenity spaces to ensuring they understand their responsibilities within the ever-changing regulatory and legislative landscape.

We work with clients such as iQ Student Accommodation, Vita Student and Hello Student to deliver tailored services, from daily housekeeping to window cleaning and summer turnaround cleaning, based on our four pillars:

  • Value: Through rigorous training programmes, strong supervision and a commitment to the real living wage, we achieve excellent productivity levels.
  • Transparency: We use technology to provide our customers with real-time MI and on the job sign off process.
  • Compliance: Our employees are fully vetted, H&S trained, accredited and ISO 45001 compliant, providing our customers complete peace of mind, 100% of the time.
  • Control: All of our services are self-delivered, giving our management team complete control of service delivery and ensuring that no ‘margin on margin’ is applied.

 

“Our approach results in safer, brighter and healthier buildings which in turn improves the student experience and, ultimately, your reputation.” Fabien Caqueret, MD, Tudor Group

Our team provides cleaning solutions for every touchpoint – whether that be window cleaning, external cleaning and maintenance, or deep cleaning kitchens and student rooms.

Cleaning rooms over the summer ready for the new student cohort is a task that requires rigorous planning and preparation, and an experienced team to deliver the work. There is often a very short turnaround time between one set of students moving out and the next moving in, and we take pride in the programme we have devised that ensures rooms are ready for the new residents. Every year, our knowledgeable and reliable teams clean thousands of bedrooms, kitchens and studios, working closely with site managers to meet any specific requirements.

Feedback from our clients is consistently positive:

 “Communication has been really clear throughout which is key to success in such a busy period. Please pass on my thanks to the team as the feedback from Jenni, Rebecca and Rob has been brilliant.” Regional Manager, iQ Student Accommodation

 “Anna – I would like to particularly thank you for your constant communication. You always had the numbers at hand each week on our calls and no matter which site we were talking about you always had the information needed at the drop of a hat.” Regional Manager (North West) iQ Student Accommodation

As the student accommodation sector continues its upwards trajectory, our teams will be on hand to provide safer, brighter and healthier buildings – improving the student experience and our clients’ reputations.

Find out more about the services we provide within the sector, or contact our team for a chat about your specific requirements.