UPP is rising above the recent doom and gloom as it celebrates another spectacular year with occupancy levels of more than 99 per cent across its portfolio of university partners.
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28/09/2009 - £133 Million Transaction Completed by UPP and the University of Exeter
UPP have successfully transacted a £133 million initiative (£112m of senior debt equally provided by Barclays Commercial Bank and RBS) with the University of Exeter establishing a long-term partnership to increase the amount of on-campus residential accommodation available to students. The deal is one of the largest transactions completed in the UK during this summer1, demonstrating the level of confidence the financial community has in the University of Exeter, UPP’s unique model and the Higher Education sector in general. The project will involve UPP designing, financing and operating new residential accommodation at three locations on the University of Exeter’s Streatham Campus and forms part of the University’s £450 million strategic investment programme.
The value of the construction contract is £77 million and construction will take place over three years from financial close, with the final phase due for completion in 2012/13. The transaction, the result of a competitive bidding process, will also generate a capital receipt for the University of Exeter for investment in the provision of its core teaching and research functions.
The University of Exeter is one of the most successful higher education institutions in the country and was named University of the Year by the Times Higher Education Supplement for 2007/08, and has recently achieved a top 10 ranking in The Times Good University Guide. UPP’s transaction with the University of Exeter is a vital part of the University’s on-going £450 million investment programme, which also includes a £48 million redevelopment of the centre of the Streatham Campus called the Forum Project, a £25 million investment in the Business School and £18 million for new facilities for Biosciences. The agreement with UPP will enable the University to concentrate its funds on academic investment whilst also being able to improve and increase its student accommodation stock.
1Research by CB Richard Ellis, ‘Average Deal Size Tumbles as Large Lot Size Deals Dry Up in European Commercial Property Market’, found that the average size of transaction agreed in the first half of 2009, within the European commercial real estate market, was €18.4 million.
Jeremy Lindley, Director of Corporate Services at the University of Exeter, said:
“The deal with UPP is critical to the University's future development because we require extra student accommodation if we are to expand and develop in the years ahead. UPP are providing very high quality units, which is what the market wants, so this development will help to enhance the offer we make to students. The work also complements other developments which are underway to expand our Bioscience and Business schools and provide a new student services building in the centre of our Streatham Campus.”
Mark Quigley, Director of Structured Finance, Barclays Commercial Bank, said:
“Barclays Commercial Bank has been UPP’s main funder for over a decade and we are delighted to have provided £55m in senior debt, alongside syndicated partners. With Barclays expertise in financing student accommodation and a strong appetite for similar deals, we are able to help improve the supply of on-campus student accommodation at a time when more students than ever before are applying to go to university. This project will be one of the largest new builds of its type this year. UPP has a robust business model and strategy, and we are looking forward to providing future support.”
Sean O’Shea, Chief Executive of UPP, added:
“The scale of this transaction with the University of Exeter shows that the higher education sector is bucking the recession trend and that university accommodation is an increasingly attractive and stable investment opportunity. We work in partnership with universities to provide high-quality accommodation, facilities and long-term financial solutions and, despite the credit crunch, we are finding the financial community has a growing appetite for this kind of investment opportunity, delivered through UPP’s unique model, and we are securing record levels of private sector funding for our university partners.”
Stuart Foster, Director, RBS UK Corporate Banking, said:
"RBS is a long standing investor in UPP's long term partnership business model and the Exeter transaction has raised capital investment (including Senior Debt, Sub Debt and Equity) of circa £133m secured on predictable long-term revenue streams. This deal will be one of the largest of its type this year and RBS expects to provide similar support to UPP for other transactions in the future. With UPP predicting 99.9% occupancy next year (2009/10) and with an average rental increase of 5.5% across the portfolio, RBS is confident that the University sector will be an important investment opportunity in the future."
The UPP scheme with the University of Exeter is expected to relieve pressure on the local rented housing market in the City and benefit the local economy by delivering approximately 300 construction jobs during the construction period, 60 permanent jobs providing facilities management services to students and £29.5 million of continuing total spending into the local economy from students living in the residences.
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28/08/2009 - Pioneering Carnegie Village now open for business
Work on Leeds Metropolitan University’s Headingley Campus pioneering Carnegie Village scheme has been completed. Provided by student accommodation specialist UPP, the exciting high-specification student residence development, consisting of townhouses and cluster flats on the University campus will welcome its first students in September.
The Carnegie Village comprises of 479 student residential bedrooms including 7 adapted rooms for disabled students. Accommodation is split into six blocks with a mixture of townhouses for nine to twelve students each, and cluster flats. Blocks have been named after Yorkshire rivers: Aire, Calder, Nidd, Swale, Don and Wharf. The cluster flats include ensuite facilities, larger bedrooms with double beds, a 24-hour reception area and will double up as accommodation for conference delegates visiting the University during the summer months. The site also features CCTV, secure covered cycle storage, vending and laundry areas.
The Carnegie Village was designed and specified to satisfy sustainable design and boasts an achievement of ‘Excellent’ rating in the industry standard BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method). The Carnegie Village itself is made up of 13% recycled material.
Sue Holmes, Head of Estates at Leeds Met, commented “Leeds Met is delighted with the new residential development at Headingley Campus. The development sits beautifully within the site and we are thrilled that we have met the BREEAM standards. We have already had a lot of interest from prospective students and conference users and are sure it will deliver a fantastic residential experience for our students and guests.” The Carnegie Village will offer all-year-round residential conference facilities to delegates, with the England Rugby Junior Squad being the first guests this month. The high specification of the village has impressed recent visitors including teams from the Paralympics, South African Olympic Delegation and Football Association for the UK 2018 world cup bid. There will be 23 rooms available all year round rising to 370 out of term time.
Work commenced on the Carnegie Village in May 2008, with Principal Contractor Shepherd Construction Ltd and Architects GWP. UPP will also provide facilities management services, running the accommodation day-today.
Leeds Met’s ongoing environmental programmes earned the University a top ten place in People and Planet’s 2009 Green League Tables. Earlier this year, Leeds Met iconic Rose Bowl building, the new home of the Leeds Business School, was opened in Leeds city centre. The Rose Bowl has won favour by claiming 25 per cent recycled content and by also achieving the BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating. The Rose Bowl building was awarded Best Commercial Property Development in the 2009 Yorkshire Property Awards.
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For further details please contact Carrie Braithwaite in the News and Media team at Leeds Met on 0113 812 3022 or email
Notes for editors:
- Leeds Metropolitan University has 30,000 students and over 300,000 associate students through its partnerships with 24 colleges.
- The University has achieved its best ever Research Assessment Exercise results. Sports-Related Studies is in the top 6 institutions in the country with research rated at the highest levels of 4* and 3*.
- The University scored highly in the Times Higher's Student Experience and was ranked 2nd in the category 'Good library and library opening hours'.
- Leeds Metropolitan University won the 'Coaching Environment of the Year’ award at the sports coach uk 2008 UK Coaching Awards and was announced as the home of the UK Centre for Coaching Excellence.
- The University is home to The UK Centre for Coaching Excellence.
- Leeds Met Carnegie is the primary partner of rugby league’s Carnegie Challenge Cup.
- The University’s new iconic Rose Bowl building was awarded Best Commercial Property Development in the 2009 Yorkshire Property Awards.
07/04/2009 - Sustainable student accommodation wins award
Lancaster University's Eco-Residences have been awarded first place in the Environmental Design category at the Chartered Institution of Building Service Engineers (CIBSE) North West Region Annual Awards.
The project at County and Grizedale Colleges is also shortlisted for an Environmental Sustainability Award in the Centre for Construction and Innovation’s North West Regional Construction Awards 2009, which will take place at Southport Theatre and Convention Centre on May 21.
These are the latest in a series of accolades for the pioneering Eco-Residence, which was designed by Lancaster University and property providers UPP in order to combine environmental sustainability with affordable rents for students:
- The Eco-Residences is a UK BREEAM Award winner in the Multi-Residential category. The BREEAM Awards recognise the highest scoring buildings certified under BREEAM, which sets the standards for best practice in sustainable design.
- The Eco-Residences also received a BREEAM Excellent rating for its high quality example of good environmental design.
- The Eco-Residences received a Secured by Design award from the Association of Chief Police Officers for crime prevention features including overlooked pathways and secure windows and doors.
Alan Haydock, Senior Project Manager for the Eco-Residences was presented with the CIBSE award at the annual ceremony in Manchester. He said, "I was delighted to collect the award on behalf of the project team. It recognises the University's efforts to create sustainable student accommodation. The Eco-Residences have proved very popular with the students and have helped educate them on living an environmentally friendly lifestyle.”
The Eco-Residence puts Lancaster University in the lead when it comes to sustainable development in the HE sector and, as the first replicable scaleable model of its kind, is now being copied at other universities.
Its innovative design provides a total of 752 rooms, together with some one- and two-bedroom flats, in an environmentally-friendly home where students can monitor their utility consumption online.
Students can also enjoy the benefits of roof mounted solar thermal panels to preheat the hot water, lighting controlled by Passive Infra Red (PIR) units, enhanced air tightness and insulation levels.
By using timber sourced from sustainable, managed forests for the building’s superstructure, the carbon footprint was reduced by a third. Timber frames were also manufactured offsite in order to minimise waste.
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For more information, please contact:
Ian Lindsley, Ben Russell, Fran O’Leary, Jefferson CommunicationsTel: +44 (0)20 7256 8912
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Notes to Editors University Partnerships Programme (UPP) is the trading name of the UPP Group of companies. It specialises in funding, developing and operating student accommodation schemes. It has invested almost £1 billion in the higher education sector and plans to invest a further £1 billion over the next two years.
23/03/2009 - Students compete in carbon footprint competition
In a pioneering project, students at Lancaster University are competing against each other to reduce their carbon footprint this semester, and win up to £1,800. As part of their unique partnership Lancaster University and UPP, the leading partner in on-campus student accommodation, are piloting the scheme to encourage tomorrow’s homeowners to take responsibility for their own carbon footprint.
The competition is taking place at the award-winning UPP Eco Residences at Grizedale and County Colleges which opened their doors to students last year. State-of-the-art technology allows the carbon footprint of each townhouse to be calculated from its water, gas and electricity usage.
The system works by sending the utility data from each townhouse to the Green Lancaster website where a calculation based on government figures converts the gas, electricity and water usage into an overall carbon footprint.
Students can log onto the Green Lancaster website http://www.greenlancaster.org.uk/carbon-competition/ and view the carbon footprint and utility use for their house in real-time, as well as check on who is winning.
Tom Roberts of Green Lancaster said, “With spiralling energy costs and the need to reduce carbon emissions we felt there was an educational opportunity to highlight the issue of climate change by linking it into students’ everyday living practices.”
Sean O’Shea, CEO of UPP added, “With HEFCE suggesting that future funding for universities will be determined by their efforts towards sustainable development, the Eco Residence and energy monitoring system will enable Lancaster University to stay ahead of the game.
Our shared goal is to lead the sector towards a more sustainable existence whilst at the same time encouraging students to reduce their carbon footprint.
By taking simple steps, such as turning off PCs when not in use and keeping windows closed to conserve heat, students will not only be able to see how easy it can be to cut carbon emissions, but will be able to enjoy some rivalry between friends to win the cash incentives”
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Ian Lindsley, Ben Russell, Fran O’Leary, Jefferson CommunicationsTel: +44 (0)20 7256 8912
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Notes to Editors
Competition:
There are six cash prizes for the competition. The Eco Residence townhouse with the lowest carbon footprint will win the top prize of £600, second and third will win £300 and fourth, fifth and sixth will win £200. Therefore the 12 residents of the winning townhouse will receive £50 each of the £600 1st prize, which is approximately the average termly utilities bill per student. The winners will be announced in early March (week 9).
Eco Residences:
The pioneering Grizedale and County Eco Residences have won a BREEAM award for their green features. This includes 70% heat recovery ventilation, sustainably sourced timber and lighting activated by movement sensors.
The Eco Residences have also won a ‘Secured by Design’ award for their crime prevention features including overlooked pathways and secure windows and doors.
University Partnerships Programme (UPP) is the trading name of the UPP Group of companies. It specialises in funding, developing and operating student accommodation schemes. It has invested almost £1 billion in the higher education sector and plans to invest a further £1 billion over the next two years.
07/02/2009 - UPP celebrates top occupancy levels
Despite the recession, UPP is celebrating another spectacular year with occupancy levels of more than 99% across its portfolio of university partners.
With 18,000 rooms across 11 university partnerships, UPP has now invested almost £1bn into the higher education sector to date, and plans to invest a further £1bn over the next two years.
And, bucking the property sector trends of the past year, UPP also secured five new university deals.
With the demand for exceptional students at an all time high, UPP’s success has been punctuated by several new, innovative developments during the past few months. This has included three new student accommodation projects and an academic facility opening at the start of the university term.
Sean O’Shea, Chief Executive of UPP commented,
“There is increased pressure on universities to market themselves as an investment worthy of students’ financial commitment, and top quality accommodation and buildings play a vital role in this.
Despite the credit crunch, university accommodation remains a stable and attractive investment opportunity, and we remain able to source high levels of funding for our partners.
UPP is really thriving on the work we have done with our university partners to attract students, and I think our fantastic occupancy levels are testament to the success of this partnership approach.”
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Ian Lindsley, Ben Russell, Fran O’Leary, Jefferson CommunicationsTel: +44 (0)20 7256 8912
Email:
,
,
Notes to Editors University Partnerships Programme (UPP) is the trading name of the UPP Group of companies. It specialises in funding, developing and operating student accommodation schemes. It has invested almost £1 billion in the higher education sector and plans to invest a further £1 billion over the next two years.
03/12/2008 - Students move into brand new pads in Plymouth
Students at the University of Plymouth are settling in to 325 brand new rooms as part of a £32 million landmark scheme with the University Partnerships Programme (UPP).
The accommodation, which includes a mixture of standard, en suite and studio rooms, is one component of a larger transaction designed by Willmore Iles Architects Limited. The other component provides a 6,500m² building for the Faculty of Education, with a learning atrium, lecture theatre and CPD facility, which came into to use on the 1st August 2008 and was designed by David Morley Architects Ltd.
Having now achieved a portfolio of 18,000 student rooms with ten university partners, 2008 not only marks the tenth anniversary of UPP's partnership with Plymouth, but also its best year so far. This has included the opening of new student accommodation developments at the University of Kent and Loughborough University, and a BREEAM award-winning Eco Residence at Lancaster University.
Sean O'Shea, Chief Executive of UPP commented;
"Despite the credit crunch, this September we have launched more than 2,600 new student rooms across the country. Not only has this been a fantastic way to celebrate our tenth birthday, but it highlights the way in which the student accommodation sector is bucking the economic trend."
Martin Berkien, Director of Learning Facilities at the University of Plymouth, said;
"In an increasingly demanding and competitive market, we are confident that the provision of first class student accommodation and university facilities will assist us enormously when recruiting future students."
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Ian Lindsley, Ben Russell, Fran O’Leary, Jefferson CommunicationsTel: +44 (0)20 7256 8912
Email:
,
,
Notes to Editors University Partnerships Programme (UPP) is the trading name of the UPP Group of companies. It specialises in funding, developing and operating student accommodation schemes. It has invested almost £1 billion in the higher education sector and plans to invest a further £1 billion over the next two years.
02/12/2008 - UPP Announces £70million Refinancing Package
University Partnerships Programme (UPP), the specialist provider of on-campus student accommodation, today announced the completion of major refinancing packages at two of its university partners, for which it raised approximately £70million in senior debt from Barclays Bank.
With Oxford Brookes University, UPP has signed a deal to extend its lease on 750 rooms until December 2050. UPP built the accommodation over two phases in 2002/3, and has secured 100% occupancy on the rooms ever since.
In a similar arrangement at the University of Reading leases have been extended on both the Student Village and St George's residences until October 2050. Here, the schemes have also achieved 100% occupancy since being built.
The deals also involved extending the maintenance/lifecycle fund at both universities and their facilities management contracts.
Sean O'Shea, UPP's chief executive, said:
"These are challenging times for much of the property industry, but our ability to raise significant levels of debt shows just how well the student accommodation sector is faring in comparison to other sectors. Since April we have managed to raise more than £350m of debt, covering six transactions across five of our 11 partner universities.
The deals with Oxford Brookes and Reading were signed within a very tight timetable and the universities responded extremely well, with all parties working together to complete the transactions with the Bank in just over four weeks. These deals enable the universities to drive funds into other facilities, to the ultimate benefit of the student."
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Ian Lindsley, Ben Russell, Fran O’Leary, Jefferson CommunicationsTel: +44 (0)20 7256 8912
Email:
,
,
Notes to Editors University Partnerships Programme (UPP) is the trading name of the UPP Group of companies. It specialises in funding, developing and operating student accommodation schemes. It has invested almost £1 billion in the higher education sector and plans to invest a further £1 billion over the next two years.
28/11/2008 - UPP announces record year
University Partnerships Programme (UPP), the UK's leading provider of on-campus student accommodation, today announced its most successful year ever thanks to new university partnerships, record levels of funding to the university sector, award winning sustainable developments and over 99% occupancy across its portfolio.
In addition, UPP Group has undergone a strategic restructure that positions the company for its planned future growth. Supported by Barclays Capital, it is set to invest a further £1 billion into the higher education sector over the next few years.
Sean O'Shea has become group chief executive while Clive Crawford assumes the title of company founder. Andrew May has been appointed managing director of the UPP development company.
Sean O'Shea stated that the year 2007-2008 was highly significant in the growth of UPP, explaining:
"Following the restructuring of the company and the completion of six major transactions, we secured over £500 million in debt finance. It highlights that the higher education sector remains stable and very attractive to investors, despite the current economic climate."
UPP has also achieved over 99% occupancy across its 18,000 student rooms this year, demonstrating how high-quality student accommodation can help universities to attract more students in a highly competitive education market.
Sean O'Shea continues:
"The past year saw an increased UPP presence across the UK, with new partnerships at the University of Kent and Loughborough University. We have also opened two new regional offices, in Nottingham for the central region and in Leeds for the northern region.
This provides our clients with the confidence that comes from working with a major accommodation provider, combined with regionally-based teams that can offer local knowledge and experience."
2007-08 saw UPP deliver the first scalable template for eco-friendly student accommodation. Recognised with a BREEAM ‘excellent' rating at the University of Lancaster, the award winning model has since been rolled out at Kent and Leeds Metropolitan and now covers 2,000 rooms. The Lancaster scheme has also won the 2008 UK BREEAM Excellent Award for Multi-residential buildings.
Sean O'Shea concludes:
"With sustainability high on everyone's agenda, we believe that students should be setting an example of living in an environmentally-friendly way. Our Eco Residence model has been a real success. Now that more universities are signing up for sustainable accommodation, their students will reap the benefits and set the standard. Building on such a successful 12 months, I am confident that the company will see continued growth in both turnover and profitability this year."
Highlighting that UPP is on track to double the business by 2010, it has already secured one major partnership within the first month of the financial year 2008-09: UPP has been appointed as partner to the University of Exeter in the £150 million redevelopment of the latter's residential estate.
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Ian Lindsley, Ben Russell, Fran O’Leary, Jefferson CommunicationsTel: +44 (0)20 7256 8912
Email:
,
,
Notes to Editors University Partnerships Programme (UPP) is the trading name of the UPP Group of companies. It specialises in funding, developing and operating student accommodation schemes. It has invested almost £1 billion in the higher education sector and plans to invest a further £1 billion over the next two years.
11/11/2008 - University of Exeter announces £150m accommodation deal
A £150 million initiative to increase the amount of on-campus student accommodation and thereby relieve pressure on the local rented housing market was announced today by the University of Exeter.
Following a competitive bidding process, the University has selected on-campus student accommodation provider University Partnerships Programme (UPP) as its ‘preferred bidder'. UPP will take over the running of Lafrowda Flats, Rowe and St German's and will then seek planning permission to redevelop some of the existing buildings and, in addition, to build further new student rooms on the University's Streatham Campus.
The initiative is a vital part of the University's £450 million investment programme. This also includes a £48 million redevelopment of the centre of the Streatham Campus called the Forum Project, a £25 million investment in the Business School and £18 million for new facilities for Biosciences. The agreement with UPP is strategically important because it enables the University to concentrate its funds on academic investment whilst also being able to improve and increase student accommodation stock. It underpins the University's ambition to become a top 10 UK university by 2012: Exeter is currently ranked 13th in the Times league table.
The University's Director of Finance Jeremy Lindley said:
‘The University is a tremendous asset for the city of Exeter and is worth more than £300 million a year to the local economy. The fact that we are still able to invest during troubled economic times will also help to protect local jobs. However, we also recognise that we have a big impact on the availability of housing in Exeter. Many students live in rented houses and this puts them in direct competition with local families. We want to free up rented accommodation for local families by providing students with an alternative on campus.'
UPP company founder Clive Crawford added:
"We work in partnership with universities to ensure we offer both high-quality accommodation for students and a solid financial solution. Being selected to work with the University of Exeter is testament to this offering, and we look forward to building a successful and productive relationship with the University and its students."
The University's £450 million investment programme is gaining pace. Last week the University selected leading architects Wilkinson Eyre to design its £48 million Forum Project to provide new learning and social space for students. Work is already underway on phase one of the Business School improvements and the University is now seeking planning approval for a major new building to expand facilities.
King Sturge property consultants managed the procurement process and acted on behalf of the University alongside Michelmores solicitors and Quayle Munro financial advisors.
UPP was selected from a list of five bidders. UPP have offered to lease 982 existing bed spaces at Lafrowda, Rowe and St Germans. The Lafrowda bedspaces will be completely redeveloped and further development sites have been identified at Duryard, Birks and Elmbrook. It is hoped to secure planning permission for the new developments in March 2009 and to sign the final agreement with UPP in July 2009.
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Ian Lindsley, Ben Russell, Fran O’Leary, Jefferson CommunicationsTel: +44 (0)20 7256 8912
Email:
,
,
Notes to Editors University Partnerships Programme (UPP) is the trading name of the UPP Group of companies. It specialises in funding, developing and operating student accommodation schemes. It has invested almost £1 billion in the higher education sector and plans to invest a further £1 billion over the next two years.
07/11/2008 - Student Accommodation Wins Crime Prevention Award
New student accommodation at Lancaster University has won an award for its design which aims to deter crime.
"Secured By Design" is a flagship crime prevention initiative from the Association of Chief Police Officers awarded to developments which promote safety through everything from layout to landscaping.
Research shows that "Secured by Design" can reduce burglary and car crime by 50% and criminal damage by 25%, although Lancaster is already ranked as the safest university town in the country for crime according to The Daily Telegraph.
The award was made to both Lancaster University and the developers UPP for the new Eco Residences developments at both County and Grizedale Colleges.
Chief Supt Tim Jacques from Lancashire Constabulary presented the award to UPP's Project Manager Ian McManus and the University's Project Manager Alan Haydock.
He said: "Whilst Lancaster is very safe anyway and the campus even more so, this award is something that the University should be proud of. It's important for both students and their parents to feel secure when they come to Lancaster for the first time."
Some features of "Secured By Design" include:
- Pathways and parking areas overlooked by residents
- Landscaping low level and the development well-lit
- Windows and doors must meet strict security standards
- Staircases and lobbies should be well-lit and recesses and blind corners eliminated
- Good signage to deter unauthorised access
The University's Director of Estate Management Mark Swindlehurst said he was delighted with the award.
"This award recognises the University's efforts to create student accommodation which is different and intelligently designed. The Eco-Residence was also selected as one of the UK\'s best environmentally sustainable buildings by BREEAM - the world's most widely used environmental assessment method."
Jan Brown is Lancaster Police's Architectural Liaison Officer and it was her job to check that both County and Grizedale complied with the "Secured by Design" standards.
She said: "Lancaster University is very safe and we aim to keep it that way through promoting good design to stop crime before it happens.
Parents are very reassured when they find out how seriously we take safety, with regular talks on campus and advice for students."
UPP's Project Manager Ian McManus confirmed UPP and their architects GWP are also delighted with the award. "Achieving this award is welcome external recognition of the careful design consideration given to this project in order to make students' time on campus as safe and enjoyable as possible."
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Ian Lindsley, Ben Russell, Fran O’Leary, Jefferson CommunicationsTel: +44 (0)20 7256 8912
Email:
,
,
Notes to Editors University Partnerships Programme (UPP) is the trading name of the UPP Group of companies. It specialises in funding, developing and operating student accommodation schemes. It has invested almost £1 billion in the higher education sector and plans to invest a further £1 billion over the next two years.