Our student digs tip has really made the grade
STUDENT digs used to be associated with grotty rooms, rising damp and unreliable heating. Today’s purpose-built accommodation can be very different, with ensuite bathrooms, attractive fixtures and fittings and wi-fi throughout.
Watkin Jones is one of the leading providers of this new brand of digs, building and managing sites across the UK, with a focus on the Russell Group of universities. The group has moved into the build-to-rent sector too, providing attractive, welllocated flats with plenty of communal space for meeting up and socialising.
This is a fast-growing field, as people of all ages actively choose to rent rather than buy their own homes.
Watkin Jones was a family business for generations so, when chief executive Richard Simpson was appointed a year ago, some investors were worried. So far, however, Simpson has proved them wrong.
With a strong track record in the rental sector, Simpson knows his stuff and is ambitious for the future, intending to step up growth in both the student and build-to-rent divisions.
Watkin Jones has an unusual business model, in that it finds sites, secures planning and builds properties but sells the assets to big institutions before construction starts so it does not need to tie up lots of capital.
Once the blocks are built, Watkin Jones will often manage them too, so it interacts directly with tenants and can tweak its services if demand dictates. The group uses mattresses that are hard on one side and soft on the other, for instance, to accommodate different bedtime tastes.
It has even installed Chinese vending machines in some blocks to help Chinese students feel at home. Traded on: AIM Ticker: WJG Contact: watkinjonesplc.com or 01248 362516