Etna House damage

Ouch, this looks bad.  I’ll e-mail Watkin Jones to see if I can get a response. Click image for larger version.

Photos from the roof of Etna House

The guys from 28dayslater have found their way to the roof of Etna House.

Etna House renamed to Jennens Court

It appears Etna House has been renamed to Jennens Court.

I have also found a useful link at mainstaystudent.co.uk, which includes photos.  They even have a FaceBook group.  Oo, they have a show home, I should visit.

Random Eastside Photos – Masshouse, Etna House, Aston University and more.

I had a walk around Eastside yesterday, sun was out so here you go.

Old UB40′s DEP International has been demolished.

Masshouse Block M

Eagle and Tun

Etna House

Aston University

Cranes at Etna House

Yipee, a little late to report, however enjoy!

Student Rent Prices to Rise

With the current climate of property, student accomodation prices are still holding strong and are set to rise according to aboutproperty.co.uk.

This is great news for developers, especially for Eastside’s Etna House and the huge 700 student apartment blocks at Curzon Gate.  Downside this is bad for the students, however prices for Birmingham are very attractive with below national average figures.  You can read the full article here.

Quote:

The average weekly student rent in the UK is now £61.48 per week, according to the latest research.

This represents a 1.5 per cent increase on the figure recorded for April 2007, following a study of 44,000 properties in 76 cities across the UK.

Over the past four years the average student rent has risen 17 per cent, from £52.44 in 2004, according to AccommodationforStudents.com.

“Now, with the current UK economic climate, the biggest factor affecting the student lettings market is the fact mortgage rates have increased and 90-100 per cent mortgages are no longer available.

“Because of this, young professionals are finding it increasingly difficult to get on the property ladder and many landlords are accordingly transferring previous student rented accommodation to professional letting, putting student rented accommodation under pressure, particularly in some cities.”

Some traditional English redbrick universities – including Liverpool (£50.52), Birmingham (£54.28), Manchester (£56.65), and Sheffield (£57.12) – remain below the UK average.

Crane has risen at Etna House

Oh look,

It then gets funny, the cable gets tangled up in Dewsbury crane, oh dear!

Etna House has been bought for £33m

Thank you Biosonic, source Europe Real Estate,

“Cordea Savills, the international property fund manager, has completed on two further assets for its Student Hall Fund, which was 2007’s top performing UK pooled property fund, with a 20.2% return over the year. The two assets that have been purchased are a 596-bed, new-build development in Central Birmingham with an anticipated value on completion of £33 million and a development of 73 studios with an end value of £6.3 million in Leeds. These schemes, together with existing income-producing properties and ongoing developments, will bring the fund’s total assets to £190 million, or more than 3,600 bed spaces across 12 schemes in 10 cities.

The Birmingham property, on Jennens Road, is directly opposite Aston University. Cordea Savills is forward funding the scheme, which is being developed by Watkin Jones, with whom the Fund has already undertaken a number of successful projects. Upon completion, due in August 2009, the development will offer students high quality en-suite accommodation in a superb location.

The Leeds property is a grade II listed building located on the edge of the Leeds University campus. It was formerly the Priory of St Wilfrid and more recently an adult education college, owned and operated by Leeds University. It is being refurbished by Springfield Mount Estates to provide 77 student bed spaces comprising a mix of self-contained studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments. Cordea Savills is forward funding the scheme through to completion, which is due in August, in time for the 2008/9 academic year. The hall will benefit from numerous period features, including its own chapel, all of which will be retained during the conversion, offering students a totally unique product in a great location.

The Student Hall Fund, which has an annualised target return of 10% over the life of the fund, was launched in 2006. By pursuing a combination of standing investments, forward commitments and forward-funding opportunities, it seeks to achieve a balance of secure income streams provided by halls let on long leases or nomination agreements, complemented by halls let directly to students and so offering the prospect of enhanced returns and capital growth.

The fund uses a stock picking strategy based on Cordea Savills’ “Winning Cities” research that identifies areas with shortfalls in supply and stronger than average rental prospects, while eliminating cities identified as experiencing oversupply, both in student and private sector accommodation.

Patrick Carr, Portfolio Manager of the Student Hall Fund, commented: “The fundamentals underpinning the Student Halls Fund are incredibly strong, which was demonstrated by its leading performance last year. Occupier demand is robust in this sector, whereas occupier demand in the commercial market can weaken during periods of economic uncertainty. As such, the fund is an interesting counter-cyclical investment.”

The strengthening fundamentals in the sector were illustrated by statistics recently released by UCAS2, the student admissions service. It said that the numbers of students applying for full-time undergraduate courses are up by 6.7%, or 26,517, compared to 2007.

Cordea Savills will be looking to raise further equity during the first quarter of this year with a view to growing the fund to its target size of £300 million plus.”

Etna House – Update

Steel still going up, some more concrete poured and one of two crane bases in place.

Eastside Update

Some photos of recent going on in Eastside.

Curzon Gate looking good.

Etna House steel is still rising. One of the two crane bases was put place Friday afternoon.

Masshouse not looking much different.