How much PBSA lending was registered in H1 2026?
Companies House recorded 124 student-labelled charges across 57 companies in H1 2026, against 88 charges across 44 companies in H1 2025. A charge is registered when a lender takes security, so the count tracks new and refinanced facilities, not their size.
Companies House register, snapshot 2026-08-01. Keyword screen of company names and charge descriptions. Not a complete count of PBSA loans, and individual lenders and borrowers are not identified.
How much was invested in UK student accommodation?
Knight Frank reports £2.3bn of UK PBSA investment in H1 2026, of which only £164m came in Q2 across 13 transactions, against £3.87bn for the whole of 2024. Prime direct-let yields were around 4.75% in London and 5.50 to 5.75% in the regions (Knight Frank, Q2 2026). The CBRE UK PBSA Index returned 3.4% in the year to September 2025, with capital values down 2%.
Sources: Knight Frank UK Student Market Update Q2 2026; Knight Frank, PBSA investment hits £3.9bn; CBRE UK PBSA Index.
Which cities saw new PBSA planning applications?
Across the 35 locations where we hold council planning exports, 31 purpose-built student accommodation applications were lodged in H1 2026. Applications that state a bed count total 490 beds, and 559 applications sought to convert homes to student HMOs.
| Location | PBSA applications | Beds stated | HMO conversions | Property charges |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | 6 | 163 | 35 | 265 |
| Bristol | 6 | 14 | 50 | 325 |
| Exeter | 3 | 2 | 4 | 113 |
| Cambridge | 2 | 60 | 21 | 117 |
| Camden (London) | 2 | 0 | 8 | 140 |
| Ealing (London) | 2 | 0 | 52 | 127 |
| Manchester | 2 | 0 | 9 | 436 |
| Plymouth | 2 | 0 | 15 | 158 |
| Southampton | 2 | 251 | 13 | 251 |
| Cardiff | 1 | 0 | 27 | 251 |
| City of London (London) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 126 |
| Nottingham | 1 | 0 | 10 | 414 |
| Reading | 1 | 0 | 8 | 208 |
| Bath | 0 | 0 | 22 | 161 |
| Canterbury | 0 | 0 | 3 | 97 |
| Derby | 0 | 0 | 21 | 198 |
| Greenwich (Woolwich) (London) | 0 | 0 | 57 | 219 |
| Guildford | 0 | 0 | 6 | 98 |
| Hull | 0 | 0 | 6 | 394 |
| Islington (London) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 275 |
| Kingston upon Thames (London) | 0 | 0 | 16 | 79 |
| Leeds | 0 | 0 | 22 | 162 |
| Luton | 0 | 0 | 25 | 288 |
| Newham (Stratford) (London) | 0 | 0 | 13 | 192 |
| Norwich | 0 | 0 | 0 | 136 |
| Portsmouth | 0 | 0 | 48 | 175 |
| Sheffield | 0 | 0 | 8 | 225 |
| Southwark (London) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 168 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 0 | 0 | 10 | 411 |
| Sunderland | 0 | 0 | 4 | 128 |
| Swansea | 0 | 0 | 23 | 193 |
| Tower Hamlets (London) | 0 | 0 | 9 | 351 |
| Westminster (London) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 379 |
| Winchester | 0 | 0 | 1 | 70 |
| Wolverhampton | 0 | 0 | 6 | 52 |
| Bournemouth | not covered | not covered | not covered | 167 |
| Brighton | not covered | not covered | not covered | 231 |
| Colchester | not covered | not covered | not covered | 59 |
| Hatfield | not covered | not covered | not covered | 43 |
| Liverpool | not covered | not covered | not covered | 322 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | not covered | not covered | not covered | 329 |
Planning: council planning exports, classified by us; "not covered" means we hold no export for that council this edition. Property charges: all charges registered against property in the location's student postcode districts, Companies House snapshot 2026-08-01.
For quarterly trends since 2019 in student-labelled lending, the live loan book and student-district prices, see the UK PBSA market report, H1 2026.
Market commentary, not a valuation, investment recommendation or offer of finance. Public figures are attributed to their publishers.
About the monitor
What is a student-labelled charge?
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Why are some cities shown as not covered?
Written and reviewed by Matt Lenzie, Founder and principal. Last reviewed .