Edinburgh student developments move forward with Singaporean private equity deal

S Harrison secured planning permission in late 2022 for a project on East Newington Place, off Newington Road, and a second development within the historic surroundings of Canongate, just behind the Royal Mile. The two developments will offer 141 high quality studio rooms in total, along with quality amenity space.

In Canongate, S Harrison has secured planning permission for the partial demolition of existing buildings and the delivery of 76 studio rooms. The site is ideally located opposite the Holyrood Campus of Edinburgh University and within easy reach of other university facilities.

The East Newington Place development has seen an old, disused commercial unit demolished and the site will now be redeveloped into a modern, energy-efficient four-storey building with 65 studio rooms. East Newington Place is located close to the main city centre campus of the University of Edinburgh and close to all Newington Road’s amenities.

Both developments will also offer separate study rooms, multimedia rooms, gyms, break-out space, cycle storage and open courtyards.

S Harrison has successfully delivered numerous PBSA schemes in Edinburgh, York and Leeds in recent years, totalling thousands of bedrooms.

These latest Edinburgh developments mark S Harrison’s second deal with QIP, with the company also forward funding one of the developer’s York PBSA schemes, which is currently under construction. When the development completes next year, it will offer 303 bedrooms spread across a three to five-storey development on James Street, close to both the University of York and York St John University.

David Clancy, from S Harrison, said: “We were keen to grow our relationship with QIP after working with them on our York development, and they quickly recognised the excellent opportunity our Edinburgh sites offer and we are delighted to have concluded these deals with them. Both schemes are very well-designed and in highly sought-after locations really close to the university, which will make them extremely popular with students.

“Construction work at East Newington Place will start in the coming months, with the scheme complete and ready for the 2025 student intake. We also expect demolition work to begin imminently at Canongate, with the development ready to open for the start of the 2026 academic year.”

Peter Young, CEO and co-founder of QIP, said: “This latest venture marks our ongoing strategic collaboration with S Harrison, our second partnership with them, underscoring QIP’s unwavering dedication to the UK PBSA sector. Leveraging our fully-integrated platform, we are able to meet the rising demands for top-tier student accommodation, and our partnership with S Harrison highlights our commitment to delivering exceptional projects that align with the evolving needs of the market. We look forward to exploring more opportunities together.”

These latest schemes bring QIP’s UK portfolio to its eleventh asset to date and its fourth in the Edinburgh PBSA market, marking a significant milestone in its strategy to deliver c.2,000 beds across prime university cities. The company first entered the Scottish PBSA market in 2019, acquiring a 198-bedroom site on London Road, known as Straits Meadow. Two years later QIP invested in a second phase of the site, consisting of a further 76-bedrooms.

S Harrison has made a substantial investment in Edinburgh in recent years and last month confirmed a deal that will see a 1970s office building in the Haymarket area transformed into a stunning new hotel for international hotel operator MEININGER. S Harrison will hold the completed investment, further strengthening the company’s property portfolio.

In addition, S Harrison recently submitted proposals for a residential-led development at Ocean Point 2 in Leith for planning approval.