Accommodation management services

Tender description

Overview The University of Leicester (the ‘University’) is seeking to appoint a Student Housing Partner to design, build, finance and maintain an additional circa 750-1250 beds on Freemens Common and Nixon Court (the ‘Site’) as part of its residential portfolio. The final composition of the development is subject to receipt of a satisfactory planning permission as referred to below and is therefore subject to change. Strategic Context The strategic context is that the University wants to increase the number of high quality and affordable beds, in order to maintain its guarantee to accommodate first year students, while at the same time replacing some of its oldest stock. The University is finalising a masterplan for the Site. Existing Residential Portfolio The University operates student accommodation across three main sites both on-campus and off-campus. The portfolio comprises both Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) and Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), providing accommodation for circa 3,500 students. It also has a nomination agreement with an external provider for an additional 655 beds. The majority of the portfolio is self-catered. The Project The University is finalising a masterplan for the Site which envisages demolition of some existing halls of residence; redeveloping the site to provide an additional 750-1,250 beds; and retaining some existing buildings and converting them into ancillary social space to support the student housing. The University envisages that the Student Housing Partner will design, build, finance and maintain these elements. The University is also exploring the creation of a new build multi-storey car park, and potentially some academic space, as part of this masterplan. The University envisages that the Student Housing Partner will potentially design, build and finance these elements and then hand these over to the University to operate and maintain. The University's preference is to make new beds available by September 2020 at the latest. It is anticipated that during the operational phase, the Student Housing Partner will deliver hard FM services for the student housing, with the University's strong preference to deliver all soft FM services. Interested parties that are shortlisted at the pre-qualification stage will be invited to put forward proposals for taking a lease on part of the Site, the University expects to enter into a Project Agreement with an operational term that is not expected to exceed 50 years from the date of completion of the works. Further information can be found in the accompanying Selection Questionnaire and Information Memorandum that interested parties can request copies of via the contact details provided.