Norton Rose Fulbright advises on funding for student scheme

Law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Balfour Beatty on the financing and development of a Sussex student accommodation scheme.The West Slope development comprises a mix of student housing and spaces for learning, socialising and student wellbeing services.Located below the South Downs, it will offer 1,899 new bedrooms consisting of a mixture between single bedroom villas, apartments and townhouses, along with a health centre, cafe, and supermarket.The project is sponsored by Balfour Beatty and the University of Sussex, with funding provided by external investors through an issuance of £171.3m in index linked bonds. The bonds were wrapped by guarantees provided by Assured Guaranty UK and Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp and awarded an AA rating, with an underlying BBB rating provided for the project.The Norton Rose Fulbright team advised on a range of matters related to the project, bringing together expert lawyers from across the firm including specialists from its energy, infrastructure and natural resources, employment, intellectual property, planning, real estate, corporate and tax teams.Norton Rose Fulbright London-based partner Melusi Dlamini led on the project and was supported by team members from across the firm including partners Matt Hodkin (Tax) and Wasim Khan (Property), Jon Perry (Corporate) and Rob Marsh (Finance), counsel Ben Carrozzi (Finance), senior associates Harriet Bowers (Projects), Emily Colville (Property) and Will Scott (Tax) as well as associates Sophie Lawrence (Finance), Tom Milner (Projects) and Georgia Foulkes-Hartley (Finance).Melusi Dlamini said: “We were delighted to work with our client, Balfour Beatty, on their investment in this important project, which was delivered effectively to a tight deadline. This will see the University of Sussex provide purpose-built student accommodation that caters to a wide variety of students who will be embarking on their studies at the university.“This kind of project underpins the very essence of university level education, as it sees the University of Sussex offer student accommodation and facilities to accommodate the needs and open the doors to further education for all prospective students.”