£19.8m funding package to bring forward Leeds development

Plans for a 23-storey, 350-bed purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) building in Leeds have moved forward with a £19.8m finance deal.LSSH Symons House, a development company owned by London & Scottish Investments and a US-based family office, will use the funding from Royal Bank of Scotland to redevelop the former four-storey Symons House office building site on Belgrave Street.The development will comprise 187 studios and 154 cluster beds offered in two, four, five and ten bed arrangements, as well as ten premium one-bed apartments on the upper floors. The project is expected to complete at the end of 2019, with the first residents expected to arrive in early in 2020.The total cost of the development is over £33m and about 250 indirect jobs are set to be created over the course of the next 15 months.Stephen Inglis, chief executive at London & Scottish Investments, said: “Working with our US partner, we have developed an effective business model to ensure the provision of quality PBSA schemes across the UK. Our first development in Sheffield was hugely successful and, thanks to funding from Royal Bank of Scotland, we have quickly been able to secure our second project here in Leeds. The development is already well underway and once complete will provide Leeds’ student population with high quality accommodation.”Jamie Drummond, relationship lead at Royal Bank of Scotland Real Estate Finance Scotland, added: “LSSH have a solid business model focused on development opportunities in the student housing market. Leeds is just the second project in the company’s ambitious growth plan and we look forward to working with LSSH to support future developments.”The developers launched their first PBSA development at Crown House in Sheffield in 2017. The scheme is located in the Cathedral Quarter area of the city and provides 355 apartments.