UK alternative real estate development, asset & fund manager Curlew Capital has received the green light for a 282-room purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) development in Stratford, East London.
Curlew’s development arm, Curlew Opportunities, will be responsible for construction of the £60 mln (€70 mln) scheme, which will begin later this year and is expected to complete for the start of the 2023/24 academic year.
The project will see the demolition of Poland House, an existing 100-bed student property acquired by Curlew in 2019, to deliver a 282 cluster bed scheme with a high level of amenity, support and community space. Curlew is targeting a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rating for the building.
Curlew’s PBSA footprint in London now totals 467 beds in development, following its September 2020 £60 mln commitment to fund a 185-room development in Bermondsey, South East London. Across the UK, Curlew is currently bringing forward six schemes totalling 1,600 beds.
‘Despite the challenges faced by the PBSA sector over the past 12 months, it has proved itself to be remarkably resilient versus other use classes. With the longer-term fundamentals highly compelling, we look forward to bringing forward our significant development pipeline, to meet what we believe will be growing demand from both domestic and overseas students,’ said Jim Sutherland, head of Development at Curlew Capital.
Curlew launched its first fund, Curlew Student Trust, in 2013, followed by CST2 in 2018, both of which were backed by clients of CBRE GIP. Curlew has to date committed over £1 bn to the PBSA sector, representing nearly 11,000 beds across 34 schemes in 23 major university markets; a mix of direct developments, refurbishment and forward fundings.
