Aviva Investors is acquiring a student village complex in the West Midlands of England in a forward funding and leaseback deal.
The asset manager is investing an unspecified amount on behalf of its insurance, wealth and retirement business, to fund the student village at Staffordshire University’s Stoke-on-Trent Campus on its Leek Road site.
The project is expected to create around 700 new student beds alongside a new student hub on a previously undeveloped brownfield site near the current housing. It will also involve the refurbishment of a 297-bed existing facility at Clarice Cliff Court.
Once the new development is completed, existing accommodation at the Leek Road site will be demolished to make way for the creation of new green space on campus.
The accommodation and the student hub facility are expected to be ready for the new intake of students in September 2026, Aviva Investors said.
Mark Wells, fund manager for real estate long income at Aviva Investors, said: “We are pleased to have been chosen as preferred funder for what will be a transformative and vibrant project. Strong demand and a shortage in the supply of purpose-built student accommodation in many submarkets has increased rents for students across the country.
“With the student population expected to keep growing, it’s incredibly important that the accommodation on offer is revamped and added to where possible.”
Marcus Mollan, investments director at Aviva, said: “It’s great to be involved with the creation of a new complex for the student population at Staffordshire University.
“The UK is home to great talent, and Aviva’s annuity business is proud to be helping universities like Staffordshire to get ready for the future and nurture this potential through new environments for living and learning.”
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