OakNorth completes £12.7m loan to Kexgill for major new student accommodation development

By Bridging Loan Directory 25th September 2018

OakNorth – the bank for entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs – has completed a £12.7m loan package to Kexgill, the student accommodation provider, for a major new development at the University of Hull.

Founded in 1978, Kexgill is currently located in nine university locations throughout the UK – Middlesborough, Stockton, Salford, Preston, Leeds, Salford, Nottingham, Liverpool and Hull – housing 3,250 students. The developer is very familiar with the Hull area given that it already owns and operates 500 student bedrooms at the university – the majority of which have been forward let for the 2018/19 academic year. Given the lack of supply vs demand in the area, Kexgill expects the 91 houses to reach full capacity quickly. Most of the houses will be refurbished to 5-bedroom en-suites with an average weekly rent of £112.

Richard Stott, Managing Director of Kexgill, commented:

“We are very proud of our partnership with the University of Hull – the additional 92 houses with the existing 100 houses purchased in the last two years, produces an iconic location, which has been branded the University Quarter (UQ). Coupled with our other existing stock in this area, the UQ will house almost 1,100 students all adjoining the campus in a unique partnership with the University of Hull.”

Commenting on the transaction, Hemesh Patel, Property Finance Director at OakNorth said:

“The team at Kexgill have extensive experience of developing and letting student accommodation across the UK, but Hull is a region of particular significance to the company as this is where its journey began. Over the last four decades, they have continued to strengthen their relationships and expertise in the area and have clearly found a recipe for success given that their rooms are already pre-let. We look forward to working with them on future projects and seeing the development once completed.”