OPAL - one of biggest UK student accoms providers in Administration

tbs624

Sunday Times and others carrying reports on the insolvency affecting OPAL, UK's "biggest" ( according to ST) provider of student accommodation. Operating Companies of the Group are in the hands of Administrators.

OPAL's founder is apparently seeking compensation from RBS, who say they gave OPAL ample time to refinance

Appears that non-UK potential buyers are "circling"

Source

Further article on the OPAL Group's finances is available here
and here

thelem

They aren't the UK's largest, as UNITE house 40,000 students but Opal only house 20,000 (sources: https://www.unite-students.com/ and http://www.opalstudents.com/)

tbs624

Thanks for your comment thelem- you're right in room terms and I've amended the OP.

However, Opal is the largest *private* company providing student accoms AFAIAA as opposed to Unite, which is a public company and my post should have made that clear, although the ST article didn't

thelem

Ah, I did notice the word private in the Sunday Times article, but interpreted it as private-sector, rather than privately-owned (given that university halls are traditionally owned and run by the university).

V_Chic_Chick

Personally I think you would have to be mad to get into the student housing market in most cities nowadays. Manchester, for instance, where Opal has 9 properties, has a massive oversupply of student housing, and much of it goes unoccupied all year (which is a scandal in the middle of a housing shortage, but that's another thread).

Given that the number of 18 year olds in existence will drop for the next decade, that private halls are not generally seen as a first choice option by domestic students, and the fact that many student cities are at / above saturation point with their student housing, I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

thelem

V_Chic_Chick wrote: »

Given that the number of 18 year olds in existence will drop for the next decade, that private halls are not generally seen as a first choice option by domestic students, and the fact that many student cities are at / above saturation point with their student housing, I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

It's still a good investment if the price is low enough. Even if there is oversupply in particular cities, it might be possible to convert some of the portfolio to non-student uses (obviously would depend on existing agreements with universitys and council planning depts).

V_Chic_Chick

thelem wrote: »

It's still a good investment if the price is low enough. Even if there is oversupply in particular cities, it might be possible to convert some of the portfolio to non-student uses (obviously would depend on existing agreements with universitys and council planning depts).

Conversion is a fair idea. I can't say I've ever set foot in an Opal property, but if they are anything like the halls that I lived in, then you would have issues because who wants to rent a flat with 8 tiny bedrooms, unless this is very much the bottom end of the private rental (DSS, more than likely) housing market. Plus, the halls I was in would have been very difficult to change due to the layout. The ones I lived in were solidly built but didn't have any plaster on the walls, just painted breezeblock, so would have been totally unmarketable to non-students. It's a different company, but Unite (another private halls company) have a reputation for flimsy fixtures and fittings.

It's conceivable, but I think you would have to sink substantial amounts of money into making them rentable to non-students.

bureaucrazy

New LHA/housing benefit allowance rules mean that single young people are now only entitled to LHA for a room rather than their own flat/house and that most local authorities do not have any supply of individual room style accommodation in social housing.

Councils are relying on claimants finding shared houses from private landlords.

How about this: Local councils should buy up the Opal buildings and use them for housing benefit claimants.

A lot of LHA claimants would be happy in a modern ensuite hotel style room with fast internet, plasma TV, on site gym and swimming pool located right in the city centre.