Q&A with Tom Brewerton, Group Development Director

We recently launched our new ‘Property Pulse’ newsletter on LinkedIn. As part of the first edition, we caught up with Tom Brewerton, Unite Students Group Development Director. 

Read his Q&A here, as Tom delves into his 2024 highlights and what he’s looking forward to this year. Plus, the biggest challenge PBSA faces right now. 

Q: 2024 was a busy year for Unite Students. What were some of your highlights? 

A: A particular highlight for us last year was Newcastle University signing a joint venture (JV) with us. This is a huge milestone for Unite Students as it shows universities value our development expertise and have confidence in our operational platform. This will be the first of many JVs, I’m sure.  

It was also a big year for achieving planning permissions. We had schemes accepted across the country totally 2,400 beds that will be delivered in 2027 and 2028 academic years.  

Finally, we opened Bromley Place in Nottingham in 2024. The 270-bed scheme was delivered a year early and includes new product specification that targets returner and post-grad students.  

Q: Looking to 2025: What are you most looking forward to this year?  

We will be opening two new buildings this year. Burnet Point in Edinburgh is a mixed-use scheme, providing a different offer for undergraduates, returners and post grads.   

The other is Avon Point, located next to the University of Bristol’s new campus. 50% of the beds will be reserved for use by the university, cementing our partnership and commitment to providing high-quality accommodation to their students.  

I visited both schemes in the past two weeks and the quality is looking great and both contractors are on track for delivery in good time for this academic year! 

Finally, we’re hoping to receive planning permission for our Newcastle University JV during the spring, with work starting on site this summer for a 2028/29 delivery. Additionally, we are in the advanced stages of agreeing a joint venture with Manchester Metropolitan University, which we expect to finalise in the second quarter of 2025. 

Q: We’ve got several projects that will start construction this year. Could you give an update on some of these?  

In addition to Newcastle, we have four build contracts we’re looking to commit to in H1 2025 covering c3,000 beds: two in London, one in Bristol and one in Glasgow. The build contract for Central Quay in Glasgow will be signed imminently. For the other developments, we’re currently going through the gateway 2 process under the Building Safety Act. We’re working closely with the Building Safety Regulator to attain approval. As soon as we have the greenlight, we will start building.  

Q: In your opinion, what’s the biggest challenge the PBSA sector is currently facing?  

The biggest challenge from a delivery perspective is the new gateways added through the Building Safety Act. As with any new regulation, this risks delays due to capacity constraints at the Building Safety Regulator. This is currently standing at around six months. The challenge we face is that our schemes need to be ready for the start of a new academic year. We can’t open schemes mid-year and therefore delays can be costly. We will continue to work closely with the regulator to deliver safe and secure homes for students. 

An ongoing challenge is securing planning permission. We’re seeing real positivity from the government regarding the delivery of new homes. However, when it comes to student accommodation, we still face some local push back which causes delays to the planning process or sometimes even refusals. Purpose-built student accommodation is a critical tool for the government when it comes to easing the UK’s housing shortage, as it helps free up much-needed family housing in our local communities, and it is therefore important that we continue to deliver new beds. We’re keen to work with the government on solutions.  

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