School’s in for Wembley developers
PROPERTY INVESTORS take note: Wembley is booming, thanks to a French school. The Lycée International de Londres Winston Churchill in Wembley Park has had a bumper start to the year by welcoming 725 students — 60 per cent more than its first intake last year. Staff numbers are up, too, as 30 new employees have joined, including 23 teachers.
Many of these arrivals have taken up residence nearby, some moving into Quintain’s new Tipi build-torent apartments, others purchasing homes in its Emerald Gardens or Alto schemes.
The Pienna apartments at Alto are set across a private residents’ water courtyard, with 24-hour concierge and gym.
The 133 one- to three-bedroom homes come with kitchen appliances and most have a private outdoor space or balcony overooking the residentsonly water gardens or the open spaces of Elvin Square Gardens. Higher floors also have views of the Wembley Stadium arch.
Alto is in zone four with easy access to central London via the Jubilee line. Underground parking is available for purchase and car-club membership is provided. Apartments are priced from £450,000.
For rental, Tipi is the latest launch at Wembley Park. The debut Tipi buildings, Montana and Dakota, offer new one- to three-bedroom apartments, most with private balcony or terrace, available furnished or unfurnished. Tipi tenants have a 24-hour concierge and night security, underground parking and bicycle storage.
There are two communal lounges at Tipi, for work or relaxation. The Deckhouse has a pool table, HD TV with Sky Sports, kitchenette and outside terrace, while the Nest has 100Mb/s broadband for home working and an HD TV. A gym and screening room will open soon. Apartments start at £1,700 pcm with no agency fees and include all utility bills and superfast broadband.
Wembley Park’s success may be based on parent and teacher accommodation but it highlights a growing trend in property investment: student accommodation. a report by property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle, predicts that UK student property will be top of the asset class for investors this year, with rental growth of up to five per cent projected.
The JLL UK student housing quarterly bulletin (2016 Q2 review) also says the purpose-built student accommodation (PSBA) sector looks “less vulner- able to the Brexit shock in comparison to other property sectors” with the student housing team projecting strong occupier and investment demand and appealing income growth for the new academic year.
Jean Liggett, CEO of the Properties of the World consultancy, which has sold numerous PBSA units across the UK, says: “The PBSA market has been rising exponentially for a number of years now, with transaction volumes of £1 billion in 2011 growing to £5.7 billion in 2015 according to the latest JLL data. Even with the uncertainty left by Brexit, the outlook for the UK student housing sector remains bright, with JLL projecting transaction volumes of £3.5 billion this year. It’s time savvy UK property buyers got back to school and invested in PBSA.”
This positive outlook is echoed by Dan Johnson, director of Student Property Investment, which has already seen a significant rise in inquiries this year. He says: “In H1 2016, we have seen a substantial 11 per cent rise in overall inquiries for UK student property investments compared to... 2015. Demand for student properties is not just from UK buyers but from all over the world as international investors seek to take advantage of a weak pound and higher than average residential buy-to-let returns.” EDITED BY CHARLIE JACOBY Quintain’s Alto scheme, where Pienna apartments start at £450,000