Puma Property Finance provides loan for Dundee PBSA

Puma Property Finance (Puma) announced it has provided an £11m follow-on loan to Glenmore Group (Glenmore) to fund the build of a further 98 PBSA beds in Dundee.

The development facility will support a phase two extension to the existing 152 bedroom PBSA scheme, funded by Puma in 2023, and will provide a much-needed supply of student beds in the city.

The scheme, Puma’s fourth with Glenmore, is conveniently located near the city centre, minutes away from Dundee’s two universities, the University of Dundee and Abertay University.

The all-studio accommodation will be adjacent to the existing Brown Street scheme, which includes sought-after amenities such as a cinema room, roof garden and gym, to meet growing student expectations.

“We are pleased to be working with our trusted partner, Glenmore, for the fourth time on the phase two extension of this scheme. With growing numbers of UCAS applications, demand for high-quality student accommodation is only increasing across the UK, particularly in Dundee which has been historically undersupplied.

“The sector also continues to deliver attractive returns, with rental growth projected to hit between 4% and 6% this year. We have strong experience in the PBSA sector, having delivered over 3000 student beds to date, and this development represents our sustained commitment to supporting essential social infrastructure across the UK.”

Eliot Kaye, Managing Director, Puma Property Finance

With a record number of university applications and shortage of 230,000 student beds, PBSA developments are playing a significant role in addressing the acute demand and supply dynamics across the UK. 

The phase one and two developments are expected to reach practical completion in summer 2024 and 2025, respectively, in time for the start of the academic year. 

“We are delighted to be working with Puma once again to deliver phase two of our PBSA development in Dundee, which is home to two excellent universities with fast growing reputations. We have appointed CRM Student to manage what will be the market leading student property in Dundee, offering fantastic studios and leisure facilities in a very convenient location. We are excited to welcome our first student intake to phase one this summer and phase two next”. 

Andrew Whiteley, Glenmore Group

Recently Puma Property Finance appointed a Head of Impact, Sarah Milne. The company’s first Head of Impact hire reflected its commitment to ESG in the construction industry.

Sarah joined Puma Property Finance in 2019 as a Manager and was quickly promoted to Senior Manager before spearheading the business’ ESG-initiative – and now taking on the role of Head of Impact. She has over ten years’ experience within the property finance sector.