Watkin Jones enters joint venture for east London student scheme

Watkin Jones and Housing Group Partnership (HGP) have formed a joint venture to deliver 397 student beds in Stratford.

The £120m purpose-built student accommodation scheme is located on a one-acre brownfield site on Grove Crescent and will include 2,000 sq m of commercial space.

HGP, the Lloyds-backed equity investor, is putting in 75% of the equity requirement, while Watkin Jones, which will build and manage the scheme, will invest 25%. 

Roughly 14,000 students study nearby at UCL East and UAL’s London College of Fashion campuses in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, as well as the nearby Birkbeck College and UEL University Square Stratford campus.

The developers are targeting completion of the PBSA element in time for the start of the 2026/27 academic year. 

George Dyer, group investment director of Watkin Jones, said: “We are delighted to partner with HGP on this joint venture, which will allow us to deliver secured returns in line with group targets whilst also offering the opportunity for outperformance from the recovery of the London PBSA market. 

“The project will provide much needed supply into Stratford, a key student location within London, delivering high quality accommodation with strong ESG credentials.”

In May, Watkin Jones announced it had returned to profit in the first half of the year.

The student housing and build-to-rent specialist said the development picture was slowly improving after being in the doldrums since the mini-Budget in September 2022.

It posted a pre-tax profit of £2.1m in the six months to March from an £800,000 loss last time, on turnover up 14% to £175m.

It has restructured in the past year with new chief executive Alex Pease taking on the role permanently last November. 

It has also been hit with remedial costs which sent it to a £42.5m pre-tax loss in the year to September 2023 from an £18.4m profit last time.