The 6,048sq metre site, which will be known as Vita Student at Richmond House, has been granted planning permission to be refurbished from a multi-use office development into 211 luxury studio apartments and communal leisure and study facilities.
Carillion has been appointed as the main contractor to the 10-month project and work has begun on-site, with it due to be delivered in time for the 2014/15 academic year.
This is Vita Ventures' seventh Vita Student project in the UK following other multi-million pound projects in Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol and Exeter. Since its launch in 2012 Vita Ventures has been operating an aggressive land acquisition strategy, targeting Russell Group university cities where there are high numbers of students, a large proportion of overseas students and an undersupply of purpose-built accommodation. Southampton was targeted for the next project as it fits this model perfectly.
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CEO of Vita Ventures, Trevor Moore, commented: "The acquisition of Richmond House marks a key milestone for the business as it brings our portfolio value up to more than £100 million and our total number of student apartments under construction up to 1,145; a huge achievement in less than two years.
"One of our differentiating factors is that we manage every stage of our developments, from land procurement right through to finding the tenants year after year. This is vital if we are to deliver true quality as it allows us to have complete control of every stage."
The speed of Vita Ventures' expansion has been driven by the level of investor demand for student accommodation, where total returns have outperformed all other property asset classes since 2011. A recent report from global property consultancy Knight Frank predicts this trend will continue well into 2014 thanks to a maturing market and increasing student demand.
(CD/IT)
