Unite Students gets planning permission for Manchester city centre site

Unite Students has been given planning permission to build a 573-bed property in Manchester city centre.

The FTSE 250 company, which manages and develops student accommodation, said this consent takes the total development pipeline to be delivered in the next three years to 6,500 beds, providing further visibility in its earnings growth outlook and building on its strategy to work in partnership with mid to high-ranking universities.

The site at New Wakefield Street is close to both the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, and is in an established area for student accommodation. Unite currently has five properties in Manchester housing over 2,300 students, and this will grow to 2,900 on completion of the new scheme.

The building will open for students starting university in 2020 and the total development cost of the scheme is expected to be around £50 million.

Group property director Richard Simpson said: "Manchester has the largest student population in the UK after London with two high quality Universities, making it a strong market for Unite Students. We are very proud to build on our presence in such a fantastic city."