Watkin Jones has forward sold two development projects. This build to rent and student accommodation specialist mode the move to lay way for work to start in York and Bristol. The company stated that it was now starting to see institutional investors recover.
Watkin Jones revealed that the student and build to rent projects are slowly getting on to the progress. The latest deal with Brookfield-owned Student Roost will release £49m to build the two projects together totalling 659 beds.
Richard Simpson, CEO of Watkin Jones, said that the development pipeline of BtR and PBSA sites continued to build in the second half of 2020, with nine development sites secured and a further three expected to be secured imminently.
London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Guildford, York, and Leicester are the places where development sites are located. Watkin Jones also secured planning permissions for 296 private rental apartments and 992 student beds across five sites.
Watkin Jones is expected to deliver operating profit of £48m to £50m from revenue of £350m after a strong recovery, said Simpson in a trading statement. Over the year non-underlying operational costs include£15m in expected cladding replacement costs and £6m relating to Covid-19.
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