Historic Bristol office building to be turned into student flats

Hannah Baker

1 July 2024 at 3:31 am·2-min read

Hanover House in Bristol — -Credit: (Image: Press Handout)

A developer has secured funding to convert a Grade II-listed office building in Bristol into student accommodation. Rengen Developments is planning to refurbish Hanover House, in the city centre, and transform it into 26 flats and 25 self-contained studios.

The company agreed the £5.38m finance facility for the purpose-built scheme with development finance lender Atelier. The project is scheduled for completion in time for the academic intake of September 2024.

Matt Measures, senior investment manager at Atelier, said: “We are delighted to be funding this conversion of a fantastic Grade II Listed building into purpose-built student accommodation in Bristol. This is the seventh scheme we have worked on with our client, Rengen, and we are equally pleased to continue to support this well-established PBSA developer in the South West.”

The announcement comes just days after a report revealed Bristol is now the most expensive city for purpose-built student accommodation outside London. The research found students in the city are expected to pay an average of £335-£382 a week for bed space, just 3%-13% less than in the capital.

The study, by real estate firm CBRE, highlighted that rents for student housing across Britain’s major university towns and cities have outpaced maintenance loans as the shortage of accommodation and student beds intensifies.

CBRE analysed purpose-built student accommodation across the UK’s 30 major university towns alongside London. The capital averages rents of £325-£433 for purpose-built student accommodation - only marginally more than Bristol. In other parts of the UK, Manchester averages £249-£295 per week, Brighton averages £285-£341, and Edinburgh averages £214-£301.

Constrained supply and a fall in the delivery of student beds to the market have exacerbated rental growth. Assuming the student population grows by 1% a year for the next three years, CBRE predicts that by 2028 the market could face a potential shortfall of 620,000 student beds.

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Historic Bristol office building to be turned into student flats

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