- New partnership between Living Sector experts to deliver 204-bed scheme
- £60m development sits within one of the largest regeneration projects in Europe
- Moorfield to fund the investment via Moorfield Real Estate Fund V
- Watkin Jones has been appointed as the delivery and contracting partner
UK-focused real estate fund manager Moorfield Group (“Moorfield”) has entered into a joint venture (“JV”) with Tiger Developments to deliver a purpose-built student accommodation (“PBSA”) scheme in Bristol. The 204-bed scheme will be jointly developed and managed by the JV, with Moorfield providing funding through its latest diversified value-add fund, Moorfield Real Estate Fund V (MREFV). Today’s announcement marks the first time Moorfield and Tiger have partnered on an investment.
Host, the operational business and sister company of Tiger Developments, has been appointed to manage the 204-bed scheme upon completion of construction.
Watkin Jones a UK leading developer and manager of residential-for-rent, has been appointed as the delivery and contracting partner for the development.
The £60m GDV development forms part of Temple Quarter, the UK’s largest regeneration project and one of the largest in Europe. Over the next 25 years, Temple Quarter is set to deliver 10,000 new homes and 22,000 jobs through science, education, business and technology facilities, as well as public spaces, commercial, leisure and retail offerings across 135 hectares.
The JV’s scheme is directly opposite the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, a £500m development from the University of Bristol and a key part of the regeneration, which will educate 4,600 students, with 650 staff and 350 partners across new business schools, research hubs and innovation centres.
The development is being delivered on a brownfield site and includes 69 ensuite clusters and 135 self-contained studios across four blocks, ranging from six to eight storeys in height, connected by bridge links over open courtyards.
Designed by Chapman Taylor architects, the amenity-rich development will be built to a high specification targeting an EPC A rating, BREEAM Excellent and will have PV panels and a connection into the local district heating network as part of a best-in-class environmental profile.
Bristol is one of the UK’s leading university cities, with c. 60,000 students across The University of Bristol and The University of the West of England. The city’s student housing market is one of the most undersupplied in the UK, with the arrival of 15,000 new students in the last six years but only 2,000 new beds developed in the same period. In the PBSA sector, specifically, there is unmet demand of over 21,000 students according to CBRE.
Moorfield has a strong track record in the student housing market, having delivered c.5,000 beds through Domain, its purpose-built student accommodation development and operational platform established in 1997. A further 2,000+ beds are being aggregated through Moorfield’s student houses strategy, which acquires and modernises student HMOs.
Freestone Road is the second student accommodation development to be brought forward by Tiger in Bristol, following approval in July 2022 for its Avon Street scheme. This will see 447 new bedrooms delivered for the beginning of the 2026/7 academic year in a major boost to the wider regeneration plans for the St Philip's Marsh area of Bristol.
CBRE acted as advisers to Tiger Developments on this transaction.
Charles Ferguson-Davie, co-CEO and CIO, Moorfield: “MREFV has a thematic focus on Living & Storage real estate and PBSA remains a high conviction sector, where we can meet demand for best-in-class accommodation in the UK’s most structurally undersupplied markets.”
“There are many challenges facing the development sector, which now also includes the new building control submission process, and we are pleased that we have been able to form a partnership with Tiger and Watkin Jones, who are both very experienced developers.”
John Nesbitt, managing director at Host said: “This partnership with Moorfield Group will expedite the delivery of what we believe is one of the most exciting PBSA schemes planned for any UK city. Bristol’s student population is predicted to increase rapidly over the next decade, and this development is much needed, particularly in the context of the emerging and neighbouring Temple Quarter Enterprise. Students will have a safe, stylish and professionally managed place to live in the heart of one of the most popular cities in which to study in the UK.”
Gwyn Pritchard, Managing Director – Construction at Watkin Jones, commented: “This PBSA scheme at Freestone Road is a standout project, and we’re pleased to be moving into the next phase with the main contract now signed. Watkin Jones is uniquely positioned to diversify in a challenging market, bringing the expertise and capability to support our partners through evolving building safety regulations.”
“Once complete, this development will deliver high-quality, thoughtfully designed student accommodation — including elevated walkways — ready for the 2027 academic year. We’re proud to be adding another landmark to Bristol’s thriving student population, adjacent to our successful Gas Lane development.”