Unite Students, the UK’s largest provider of student accommodation, has acquired a key London development that will provide new student homes in central London to support the growth of its university partners.
The company has purchased a Zone 1 London development on Borough High Street in Southwark where it will build a 444-bed property for the 2027/28 academic year.
Kings Place, near Borough Underground Station, will include 308 studio flats and 136 en-suite rooms in cluster flats for students, eight key worker residential apartments and a further 18,000 sq ft of workspace accommodation.
The scheme will have excellent connectivity to Kings College London and the University of the Arts London, amongst others, and include a cinema room, gym, pavilion and terraces.
Unite Students’ London development pipeline now totals 3,200 beds for delivery over the next five years with a total planned investment of over £800million.
This includes the delivery of 716 new beds and a new home for the London Academy of Excellence, a sixth form, at its Hawthorne House property, which is replacing the former office block Jubilee House on Farthingale Walk. It’s due to open in time for the 2026/27 academic year.
Tom Brewerton, group development director at Unite Students, said: “We are delighted with the acquisition of Kings Place; a high-quality development in a central London location close to a range of London’s leading universities and Borough Underground Station.”
“Unite Students is leading the purpose-built student accommodation sector and this new acquisition is an exciting development. The site benefits from full planning permission so allows us to start demolition soon resulting in a swift delivery for the 2027/28 academic year.”
“We are trusted by parents, students and universities to provide high-quality, safe and affordable accommodation that supports the entire university experience and are committed to delivering our record £1.5billion development pipeline to meet this demand.”
