iQ Student Accommodation (iQ), one of the UK’s leading providers of student housing, which is 100% owned by funds managed by Blackstone, today announces it has agreed to forward fund Topland Vintage group, one of the largest privately owned investment groups in the UK, on the development of a 1,209-bed student accommodation and co-living campus a stone’s throw from the University of Warwick.
iQ will partner with Topland Vintage Group and McLaren Property, one of the UK’s leading PBSA developers, to deliver the development in two phases, with the first phase expected to complete in 2025 and the second phase following in 2026. Planning consent for the campus was approved in December 2022 and construction is due to start at the end of this year.
Adjacent to the University of Warwick’s campus, the development will comprise 1,078 PBSA beds, 131 co-living beds and 6,000 sq ft of retail space. It will provide best-in-class amenities for residents including study lounges, game lounges, a TV lounge, private dining rooms, a gym and yoga studio.
The University of Warwick is part of the Russell Group and is ranked the 10th best university in the UK and the 2nd best business school in the UK. Currently, Warwick has an acute undersupply of PBSA with 10x as many students as private beds. This development will help to reduce this undersupply and provide more students with convenient and high-quality accommodation close to the University of Warwick’s vibrant campus.
Matt Merrick, CEO of iQ Student Accommodation, said: “This acquisition represents the next step in our growth story, as we continue to expand our portfolio in the UK’s most successful university locations - where student demand is highest. This outstanding development, which is ideally located for University of Warwick students, will bring iQ’s offer of high-quality, well-located accommodation, as well as its focus on delivering an outstanding living experience to more students.”
Sol Zakay, CEO of Topland Vintage group said: “We have owned this site since 2013 which was fully occupied by Barclays Bank Plc. Following their departure we recognised the opportunity to create value by obtaining a planning consent for 1,209 student beds and we are delighted to bring the vision to fruition with iQ and McLaren. We are working on other student sites which will come forward in the near future.”
Bruce Ruddle, Development Director of McLaren Property “McLaren are delighted to have brought this scheme forward with Topland. The forward funding represents an excellent opportunity for McLaren to continue to develop relationships with iQ. This development will represent the largest privately owned PBSA scheme in the vicinity of the University Warwick. We look forward to starting on site later in the year and delivering Phase 1 for 2025 and Phase 2 for 2026.”