Specialist PBSA finance in Coventry

Has the City of Coventry built too much student accommodation?

Coventry City Council commissioned Cushman & Wakefield to answer exactly that question for its Local Plan review. The resulting PBSA Market Study (2024) found 25,590 bed spaces in 2023/24, making Coventry the eighth largest PBSA market in the UK. Beds rose 71% between 2019/20 and 2023/24, against 46% on average in 11 comparable markets. The 9,716 new beds delivered since 2019 were the most of any market in the peer group, and the study suggested "a misreading of market conditions from a number of developers" (Cushman & Wakefield for Coventry City Council, 2024).

The study measured 1.70 students per bed across the city in 2021/22, against a national average of 2.12 in Cushman & Wakefield's data. Around Coventry University and the city centre it was 1.2 to 1, which it called "a dangerously low level far below that of any other major market in the UK". Around the University of Warwick it was 2.6 to 1, which it described as undersupplied (Cushman & Wakefield for Coventry City Council, 2024).

Later evidence points the same way. Writing for HEPI in April 2026, Martin Blakey reported that "some of the highest void rates (empty rooms) are to be found in Coventry (servicing both the University of Coventry and nearby Warwick University), Leeds and Nottingham" (HEPI, April 2026).

Which students drive demand in Coventry, UK?

Two universities shape the market, and they behave differently. The study counted 56,596 full-time students across the two. Coventry University had 31,910 students in 2021/22, nearly tripling in size within 15 years, with 47% international. The University of Warwick, a Russell Group institution, had 24,685 (Cushman & Wakefield for Coventry City Council, 2024).

Demand for beds grew fastest at Warwick: its demand pool rose 23% between 2016/17 and 2021/22, against 5% at Coventry University. Yet most new supply was built centrally, close to Coventry University. The study also found Warwick students moving away from Leamington Spa towards the city centre. Coventry University's reliance on international students makes visa policy a live risk for city-centre student living.

Why is letting student housing near Coventry University so competitive?

Nomination agreements between Coventry's universities and private blocks all ended in 2023/24 as the universities' own accommodation came forward, so every private bed in the city, 16,377 of them, is let direct. The study found 16 schemes offering cashback of £100 to £500 per booking, twelve offering referral payments and five offering group discounts, which it read as signs of "oversupply". Private rents rose 3% between 2022/23 and 2023/24 against 10% in peer markets, and 26% of private beds were priced under £6,000 a year (Cushman & Wakefield for Coventry City Council, 2024).

Some owners are now trying to leave the student market. The owners of Fortress House on Corporation Street applied to convert two floors to HMOs, citing "persistently low occupancy levels from students" (LandlordZone, June 2026). The council refused that application in July 2026 as "unacceptable in principle" (Coventry Society, August 2026). The Coventry Society also described one scheme of over 1,000 units that it said had never been more than two-thirds occupied.

Where does purpose-built student accommodation sit across Coventry, England?

Purpose-built student accommodation in Coventry is concentrated in the city centre around Coventry University, with a smaller market on the south-west edge of the city next to the University of Warwick.

Coventry city centre

Inside the ring road, around Coventry University's campus and Coventry Cathedral. The city centre and Coventry University area took 8,305 of the new bed spaces, and this is where the study found the heaviest discounting (Cushman & Wakefield for Coventry City Council, 2024).

Far Gosford Street

A student street east of the centre, home to the FarGo Village creative quarter and a short walk from the Coventry University campus, with a mix of shared houses and smaller blocks.

Canley, Tile Hill and Cannon Park

The south-west edge of the city next to the University of Warwick campus, the one sub-market the study found undersupplied. Coventry officers recommended approval in March 2026 for a 400-bed scheme by Redford Developments on a former builders' yard near the university, a cross-boundary site partly in Warwick district, despite more than 100 objections (GSL, March 2026).

Earlsdon

Just outside the ring road to the west, long a popular place for students from both universities in terraced houses let as HMOs (Iceni Projects for Coventry City Council, 2022).

Leamington Spa

Outside the city in Warwick district. The universities told Cushman & Wakefield that Leamington's popularity with Warwick students had fallen in recent years (Cushman & Wakefield for Coventry City Council, 2024).

How is the Metropolitan Borough of Coventry changing its student accommodation policy?

The adopted Local Plan's Policy H10 encourages purpose-built student accommodation and conversions that are directly accessible from the universities, which it describes as within or next to the city centre or the University of Warwick campus. Student tenure is secured through a Section 106 agreement (Coventry City Council, Local Plan Policy H10). An HMO Article 4 direction came into force on 30 September 2023, and an HMO Development Plan Document was adopted on 26 March 2025 (Coventry City Council).

The market study recommended a zoned approach to new PBSA, a requirement to demonstrate demand at planning, and a presumption against all-studio schemes (Cushman & Wakefield for Coventry City Council, 2024). The Coventry Society reports that the new Local Plan's draft Policy H10.3 would require new schemes to show they can be adapted to other residential uses, with adoption expected in late 2026 or early 2027 (Coventry Society, August 2026).

Financing student accommodation across the West Midlands

In a market carrying surplus beds, much of the funding need is for existing buildings. We arrange stabilisation finance for blocks still building their occupancy, refinance for maturing loans on current values, and investment finance at 55 to 65% LTV for buyers of operating stock. Student accommodation development finance, at typically 60 to 70% of cost, is realistic mainly near the University of Warwick, or for a scheme with a clear demand case and good transport to campus. All lending is subject to status, valuation and lender criteria.

We are a finance arranger and introducer, not a lender. Nearby markets: Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Nottingham.