With full planning permission already secured, the St Gabriel’s Hall development on Oxford Place in Manchester is a unique part-newbuild, with the construction of two new blocks, and part-refurbishment, of two heritage buildings, delivering 319 student rooms totalling 104,259 sq ft (9,686 sq m), with an additional 5,005 sq ft (465 sq m) of amenity space. Completion is expected in summer 2025, enabling the first residents to move in in time for the start of the 2025/26 academic year.

The development is just to the south of the University of Manchester and the Royal Infirmary in an established area of PBSA in Manchester. It is within a 10-minute walking distance of the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, and the Royal Northern College of Music. The city centre is also easily accessible.

St Gabriel’s Hall will target strong ESG credentials, with the newbuild element set to achieve EPC A alongside a BREEAM excellent rating. The refurbishment of the underutilised heritage buildings will also have major environmental benefits to the developments embodied carbon rating and footprint. The buildings will be partly powered by air source heat pumps to produce hot water, with no gas used on site, while the scheme will also benefit from the proximity to public transport further reducing its environmental impact.

Cushman & Wakefield advised Barings while CBRE acted on behalf of McLaren.

Ben Pile, Head of European Residential Investment and Asset Management at Barings, said: “St Gabriel’s Hall will be the fourth PBSA scheme to be delivered by Barings in the UK on behalf of our capital partners – and the second in Manchester. Given the continuing supply-demand imbalance for purpose-built student accommodation in Manchester, St Gabriel’s Hall will provide an attractive proposition to students who will find the mix of quality specification, extensive amenity spaces and attractive landscaped grounds, proximity to world-class institutions, and excellent transport links very appealing. We are delighted to be partnering with McLaren Property, who are a well regarded developer in the PBSA market.” 

Darren Hutchinson, Managing Director and Head of UK Real Estate Transactions at Barings, said: “The sector has proven very resilient over the past few years which is why we see a strong opportunity to create modern, high quality stock that meets the aspirations of students against a background of constrained supply in the UK. Aside from PBSA as an asset class, we are very interested in further widening our exposure to BTR across the country in major cities.”

John Gatley, Chief Executive, McLaren Property, said: “Student accommodation is attracting strong investor appetite, amidst what is otherwise a challenging funding backdrop, and we anticipate this will continue due to the resilience of our sector.”

David Atherton, Development Director, at McLaren Property, said: “This partnership is a milestone moment for the project and secures the development finance required to bring this exciting scheme to fruition. McLaren Property and Barings have a shared vision to breathe new life into these redundant historic buildings and help set the highest standards of accommodation within Manchester. With enabling works already underway and the main works set to commence in November,  McLaren’s focus is now on delivering an award winning redevelopment.”

Contacts
Tali Robinson/Polly Warrack/Ben Monteith (SEC Newgate)
baringsRE@secnewgate.co.uk

Barings Real Estate
Barings Real Estate (BRE) is a part of Barings and offers a broad range of global investment opportunities across the private debt and equity investment markets. BRE invests in all major property sectors and offers an expansive range of financing solutions to real estate borrowers.  Follow us on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/showcase/barings-alternative-investments.

About Barings
Barings is a $381+ billion* global investment manager sourcing differentiated opportunities and building long-term portfolios across public and private fixed income, real estate, and specialist equity markets. With investment professionals based in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, the firm, a subsidiary of MassMutual, aims to serve its clients, communities and employees, and is committed to sustainable practices and responsible investment.

*As of December 31, 2023

About McLaren Property
McLaren Property specialises in the delivery of market leading Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) and mixed-use commercial developments. McLaren Property has delivered £1.5bn developments (6,500 beds) across the UK to date, with a strong pipeline of £2bn (9,500 beds) of development coming forward in major cities including Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Warwick and Nottingham.

Founded in 2010, McLaren Property has forged successful joint ventures and funding partnerships over the past 13 years. The developer is currently working with Topland and Blackstone on The Oaks in Coventry, with Barings on St Gabriel’s Hall in Manchester and with M&G on Talbot Street in Nottingham.

The PBSA specialist is also working alongside Property Alliance Group, Moda and Kadans on plans for Upper Brook Street in Manchester, and has projects in London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol, Brighton and Bournemouth, with an appetite to invest in other leading UK cities.