Kestrel Wharf
Land close to stabilisation over a 33-month programme, senior repaid at refinance or forward-sale
Land close to stabilisation over a 33-month programme, senior repaid at refinance or forward-sale
A secured Floating Harbour plot with planning in hand. A 420-bed scheme at £78.0M gross development value. A fixed-price build contract at £32.0M. A 25-year University of Bristol nomination on ~65% of beds. A 34.5% margin on cost.
A 33-month programme carries interest and construction risk. A single site with no diversification. Direct-let lease-up on ~147 beds in the first cycle. Value crystallises only at stabilisation.
Bristol student numbers outpacing purpose-built supply. A structural bed shortage in a supply-constrained city. Deep institutional appetite for nomination-backed PBSA. A waterfront address near both campuses.
A rise in debt costs that lifts carry. Construction cost inflation beyond the contingency. Yield softening at exit. New competing PBSA supply. A senior loan at ~7.5% if the programme runs long.
Moderate. Consented waterfront sites are scarce and planning takes time. A new competitor would need land, consent and a 24-month build. Kestrel has planning and is moving now.
Low to moderate. The fixed-price contract locks the construction price with the contractor. Subcontractor and material pricing is set at signing, with a 5 percent contingency over it.
Moderate. A handful of Bristol PBSA schemes compete for the same student. Kestrel sits at the waterfront, nomination-backed end, so it is not a like-for-like fight.
Low. Students are many and the market is short of beds. The 25-year nomination fixes the rent on the core beds, so the scheme does not depend on any one tenant.
Moderate. Shared houses, ageing halls, or commuting are the substitutes. Each trades off quality, management, or the harbourside location. Purpose-built supply stays thin.
UK planning and HMO policy set by Bristol City Council. The site has planning in hand. A stable consenting and building-control framework runs through construction.
Student numbers and rental growth support demand. Debt costs shape carry and exit yields. Purpose-built supply is constrained while enrolment rises. Bristol PBSA trades at 4.5% to 5.4%.
Full-time students want managed, secure rooms near campus. Waterfront, walkable locations draw a premium. The Floating Harbour anchors demand.
Students book online and expect a managed platform, app-based access and fast connectivity. Building systems and energy performance factor into the choice.
Energy-efficient design matters to students and to running cost. The scheme targets BREEAM Excellent with an all-electric plant. Lower bills, lower carbon.
UK PBSA and HMO regulation, the nomination agreement and the building safety regime set the legal framework. Clean contracts, an assigned nomination and specialist counsel on the team.
The University of Bristol, the PBSA operator, the contractor, architect and engineers, planning, the senior lender and the LP.
Planning, construction management, the nomination agreement, lease-up, and cost control across the programme.
Managed, modern student beds on the Floating Harbour, income-secured on a 25-year nomination, at £78.0M gross development value.
A university nomination, an operator letting platform, and a managed process from booking through move-in.
First-years via the nomination, returning and postgraduate students direct-let, and international students in the premium studios.
The secured harbourside site, the planning and design, the £23.2M equity, and the £34.8M senior loan.
The nomination agreement, the operator platform, university offices and student portals.
Land, construction and soft costs, contingency, letting and marketing, and finance cost.
Rental income across 288 cluster ensuite, 72 large ensuite and 60 studio beds, £4.3M of stabilised net income at a £78.0M value.
Bristol has strong demand for managed beds but little purpose-built supply. Students face tired shared houses or ageing halls. Modern, well-managed rooms near campus are scarce.
A 420-bed purpose-built scheme on a consented harbourside plot. Cluster ensuites and studios, full amenity and management, built under a fixed-price contract.
Managed, modern student beds on the Floating Harbour, income-secured on a nomination, at £78.0M gross development value.
A secured, consented harbourside plot. A fixed-price contract at £32.0M. A 34.5% margin on cost. Scarce purpose-built supply in a supply-constrained city.
First-year, returning, postgraduate and international students who want a managed room near campus.
Beds let, occupancy, re-booking rate, rent per bed, and margin on cost.
University nomination, operator platform, university offices and student portals.
Land, construction and soft costs, contingency, letting and marketing, and finance cost.
Rental income from £245 cluster ensuites to £365 studios, £4.3M of net income across 420 beds.
Bristol development entity, clean capital stack, and book-ready development accounts.
The sponsor, a development manager, the contractor's site team, the architect and engineers, and the PBSA operator.
Design and BIM models, the operator letting platform and CRM, and construction scheduling tools.
Fixed-price build contract, subcontractor packages, materials and finance from the senior lender.
Land acquisition, planning, site survey, geotechnical work, and enabling and remediation.
Construction of the frame, envelope, MEP and fit-out under the fixed-price contract.
Practical completion, building-control sign-off, and handover to the operator.
Nomination agreement, operator platform, university offices, and student portals.
Management, security, maintenance and re-booking after handover.
Kestrel Wharf: managed, modern beds on the Floating Harbour, income-secured on a 25-year nomination, walkable to both campuses.
Premium waterfront PBSA: high quality, but let direct with no long nomination behind the income.
Older converted halls and HMOs: lower rent, but tired stock, no amenity and no management.
University-owned first-year halls: managed, but ageing, first-years only and heavily oversubscribed.
When I move to Bristol to study, I want a secure, managed room near campus so I can settle in without the hassle of a shared house.
When I pay for my accommodation, I want to trust the building, the management and the safety, and feel it was money well spent.
When friends and family see where I live, I want it to feel modern and well-located, in a part of the city people know.
Little purpose-built supply. Tired shared houses. Ageing halls. Long waiting lists. No management or security.
A modern, managed room. Full amenity and security. A walkable harbourside address. All-inclusive rent. A well-run building.
Rent a shared house. Stay in an ageing hall. Commute from a cheaper suburb. Or take whatever the ballot offers.
About £138,000 total development cost per bed across 420 beds. Construction is roughly £95,000 of that, with land, fees, contingency and finance making up the rest.
About £185,714 of value per bed, from £245-a-week cluster ensuites to £365-a-week studios. Stabilised net income is £4.3M.
About 1.35 times value to cost per bed, a 34.5 percent margin on cost across the scheme. Bristol PBSA trades at 4.5% to 5.4% yields.
Equity returns at stabilisation: a refinance releases ~£8M, or a forward-sale returns capital in full at £90M.
25.6% profit on value and 34.5% on cost. £20.0M profit on a £78.0M value.
About 65% pre-let on the nomination before completion. Direct-let lease-up months 30 to 33, stabilised by month 33.
Let the 420 beds to Bristol students through the nomination and the operator platform. Pre-let ~65% on the nomination, then fill the direct-let beds and stabilise.
Offer managed, modern beds with full amenity on the water, at the nomination-backed end for the same student.
Reach returning, postgraduate and international students alongside the first-year nomination base.
A single scheme this round. Future Bristol or regional PBSA sites sit outside this programme.
| Criterion | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Valuable | A secured, consented harbourside plot delivers scarce purpose-built beds into a supply-constrained city. A 25-year nomination secures the income. A fixed-price contract protects the margin. The scheme returns 34.5% on cost. |
| Rare | Consented waterfront sites are scarce, and a 25-year university nomination is rare. Few competing schemes combine a harbourside address with covenant-backed income. |
| Inimitable | A competitor would need a comparable waterfront site, consent, a nomination and a 24-month build. Land is scarce and consent is in hand, so the head start cannot be matched inside this programme. |
| Organized | Consented and build-ready today. The fixed-price contract, the £23.2M equity, the £34.8M senior loan and the nomination are in place. The team is mobilised to close the raise and start. |
A sharp rise in debt costs that lifts carry, or yield softening at exit. Watch both; the nomination and the forward-sale option set a floor under the exit.
Slower direct-let lease-up than underwritten and construction cost movement. Mitigate through the 25-year nomination, a fixed-price contract, and a 5 percent contingency.
Minor material price swings within contingency. Short weather delays. Accept these and spend no management time on them.
Planning-condition and building-control timing. Snagging at handover. Manage through the construction schedule and monthly site reviews.