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 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 £800 million.
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 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 £1.5 billion development pipeline to meet this demand.”
