Scheme will comprise 784 beds in the key student city of Glasgow
Highlights:
- Watkin Jones has entered into a Joint Venture with Maslow Capital to develop a 784-bed purpose-built student accommodation (‘PBSA’) scheme in Glasgow
- The scheme will have with an estimated Gross Development Value (‘GDV’) of £182m upon stabilisation
- This is the first transaction between Watkin Jones and Maslow Capital
Watkin Jones, the UK’s leading developer and manager of residential properties for rent, is pleased to announce it has entered into a new Joint Venture (‘JV’) with Maslow Capital in respect of a PBSA scheme to be delivered in Glasgow.
The JV is Watkin Jones’ first transaction with Maslow Capital. The Ard, Glasgow promises to deliver a high-quality scheme in this prime city for student accommodation. In total, The Ard will offer 784 beds across a mixture of ensuite cluster beds, studios, and non ensuites.
The Ard is ideally located between Glasgow city centre and the West End and is under 10 minutes by public transport to both the University of Glasgow and the University of Strathclyde.
In line with Watkin Jones’ high sustainability standards, the development is targeting strong environmental credentials, targeting BREEAM Very Good, EPC B, and WiredScore Silver.
George Dyer, Group Investment Director at Watkin Jones, said: “This exciting new partnership with Maslow Capital reflects the strength of our proposition to institutional capital, leveraging the depth and quality of our purpose-built student accommodation offering in the UK.
“The fundamentals underpinning UK student accommodation remain compelling, with robust demand and supportive demographics. We are excited to collaborate on this standout project, which will deliver a high-quality sustainable development in a prime university location.”
Rachael Gordon, Head of Deal Execution (UK & Europe) at Maslow Capital, commented:
“Student accommodation continues to demonstrate resilient fundamentals, with strong demand across key UK cities outpacing available supply. Glasgow is a prime example of this imbalance, making it a highly attractive market for investment. We are pleased to support Watkin Jones with funding that will deliver much-needed capacity in one of the country’s leading student centres.”
Sky Mapson, Senior Director, Origination at Maslow Capital, added:
“Maslow Capital has a longstanding record of partnering with top developers across the living sector to deliver placemaking schemes. In Watkin Jones we see a sponsor with clear delivery discipline and operational know-how. Our role is to provide certainty of funding so the team can focus on execution and timely delivery for Glasgow’s students.”
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Media enquiries:
MHP Group (Watkin Jones)
Reg Hoare, Rachel Farrington, Catherine Chapman
Tel: +44 (0) 7711191518
Notes to Editors
About Watkin Jones
Watkin Jones is the UK's leading developer and manager of residential for rent, with a focus on the build to rent, student accommodation and affordable housing sectors. The Group has strong relationships with institutional investors, and a reputation for successful, on-time-delivery of high-quality developments. Since 1999, Watkin Jones has delivered over 52,000 student beds across 150 sites, making it a key player and leader in the UK purpose-built student accommodation market, and is increasingly expanding its operations into the build to rent sector, where it has delivered c5,000 apartments across 26 schemes to date. In addition, Fresh, the Group's specialist accommodation management business, manages c.21,000 student beds and build to rent apartments on behalf of its institutional clients. Watkin Jones has also been responsible for over 80 residential developments, ranging from starter homes to executive housing and apartments.
The Group's competitive advantage lies in its experienced management team and capital-light business model, which enables it to offer an end-to-end solution for investors, delivered entirely in-house with minimal reliance on third parties, across the entire life cycle of an asset.
Watkin Jones was admitted to trading on AIM in March 2016 with the ticker WJG.L. For additional information please visit www.watkinjonesplc.com.
About Maslow Capital
Maslow Capital is a leading pan-European provider of real estate finance, with a track record built on the funding of over £9bn of real estate projects. With offices in the UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, we deliver the expertise and financial backing property experts need to succeed at every stage of their investment journey
We originate, underwrite, risk-manage, and service real estate loans, offering structured credit solutions across Bridging, Refurbishment, Developer Exit, Development, and Stabilisation facilities. Additionally, our Lending Solutions team caters to unique events and asset classes such as project recapitalisations, loan purchases, lending against specialist real estate, and land remediation in partnership with Homes England.
Across all our geographies and products, our financing ranges from £300k to £750m, supporting projects of all scales. Our deep market knowledge, commitment to excellence, and hands-on approach ensure that our clients can bring their visions to life with confidence.
Maslow Capital is part of the Arrow Global Group, a leading European vertically integrated asset manager specialising in credit and real estate.