November 2015

A limited number of hotel-class en suite rooms will become available at Manchester and Salford’s newest student accommodation building Riverside House in the coming months.

Although Riverside, on the bank of the River Irwell on Blackfriars Road, officially sold out in September, accommodations managers are able to release a number of selected rooms on a short term let basis from now until mid-August.

Portergate Property Management, which runs the successful 242-room residence, has 33 rooms coming free on a week-by-week basis over Christmas and into the New Year through to Easter.

Riverside is a highly popular first choice home-from-home for students studying at the University of Salford, the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University.

Sebastian MacNally, trainee accommodation manager at Riverside, says: “Although we sold out in September, there are a number of residents whose studies do not follow the standard academic year and so will be leaving us at various dates during the next six months.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for students looking for the first time or needing to switch their accommodation for a room in a residence that is a class above the norm.

“We will do everything we can to help students and their parents make the right choice and smooth their transition into life in Riverside.”

The North West student accommodation sector has experienced a boom year for student applications and Riverside sold out in record time this summer.

Karen Preece, managing director of Portergate Property Management, said: ““In Manchester and Salford we are seeing record numbers of students looking for high quality accommodation like Riverside.

“We already know that applications to reserve a room from September 2016 are likely to be just as high so we are advising new students to reserve their place now for both the New Year and September 2016.”

Karen praised the multi-lingual Riverside House team for their hard work and dedication since the development opened its doors.

She said: “The tremendously high standards we set reflect the demands and expectations of today’s students, and in particular their parents, who expect their sons and daughters to live in hotel-class accommodation while they enjoy their higher education.”

Portergate Property Management was one of the first UK student accommodation providers to predict the new market for a higher standard of student living.

And with Riverside performing so well in the Salford and Manchester market, just two years after first opening in September 2013, Portergate is rolling out the concept across the North West.

Building work is moving ahead at its Friargate development in Preston, in the city’s university quarter.

The £18 million transformation of the 1.5 acre site will bring three new retail premises and the creation of a 244 bedroomed building aimed at providing Portergate’s brand of hotel-style accommodation to students at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).

Part of that high-quality accommodation on offer is also aimed at post graduate students at the university and apprentices and key workers in Preston’s high-tech manufacturing sector and new Enterprise Zone. The development is scheduled for completion next year.

Karen added: “We expect interest in Friargate to be just as strong as we have experienced at Riverside; enquiries are already coming in for next year.

“We are advising students and their parents to keep checking our website for full pricing information and we are able to take reservations now for September 2016.”

For more details of Riverside and Friargate and the rooms available now and in September 2016, please visit www.studentaccommodation.properties

Preston’s biggest city centre regeneration project has turned purple throughout November to raise awareness for a national cancer charity.

Portergate has added its  £18million  244-room luxury student accommodation construction project in Friargate to Pancreatic Cancer UK’s Purple Lights for Hope campaign, joining  numerous other landmarks across the UK raising awareness of the condition.

The idea to support the charity stemmed from a conversation between Portergate’s chairman, Anthony Jackson and the site’s former owner, respected furniture salesman Donald Bamber.

Eric Wright Construction, part of the Eric Wright Group, has illuminated its 45 metre on-site crane a vivid purple, which is situated within the 1.5 acre site in Preston’s University Quarter.

The city of Preston now sees a violet shard of light shoot 45 metres skywards – designed to symbolise the lives of loved ones dealing with a pancreatic cancer diagnosis and to remember those who have sadly died of the disease, whilst also spreading a message of hope.

According to Pancreatic Cancer UK, the campaign has captured the imagination of patients, families, health professionals and campaigners since its launch last year when 60 landmarks and buildings lit up in the UK.

Anthony Jackson said: “Donald and I both wanted to support this initiative and by allowing our Friargate site to be one of the many prominent buildings across the UK to ‘go purple’ in November we feel we can help Preston play its part.

“Our focus as a company has always been to involve the local community in our projects and if we can help raise awareness of an important condition that affects many people’s lives then we will do it.”

Site manager Steve Harding from Eric Wright with the crane lighting up the Preston night sky

Stephen Harding, site manager from Eric Wright Construction, added: “We are delighted to be supporting Pancreatic Cancer UK’s Purple Lights for Hope campaign. We hope that by lighting up the crane at Friargate in purple we are going some way to help put a spotlight on pancreatic cancer and to highlight a disease that many people still know so very little about.”

Figures from Pancreatic Cancer UK show that around four per cent of people diagnosed with the disease survive five years or more – a statistic which hasn’t changed in 40 years. Pancreatic cancer is the fifth most common cause of all cancer deaths in the UK and it is set to overtake breast cancer as the fourth most common cancer killer by 2030.

Alex Ford, chief executive of Pancreatic Cancer UK, said: “Purple Lights for Hope presents a fantastic opportunity to raise crucial awareness of pancreatic cancer, which one person is diagnosed with in the UK every hour and has the lowest survival rate of all the 21 common cancers.

“On behalf of everyone at Pancreatic Cancer UK I would like to say a huge thank you to Portergate Developments, Donald Bamber and Eric Wright Construction for helping us to spread our vital message of hope to people affected by the disease.”

To find out what other landmarks are lighting up this year, visit www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/purplelightsmap.
Throughout the campaign, supporters will be uploading photos and updates from across the UK on Pancreatic Cancer UK’s social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter (using the hashtag #purplelights).

A new face at Blackfriars Road student accommodation Riverside Salford is boosting the front of house team which supports and helps students during their stay.

Sebastian MacNally joins the Portergate Property Management team at Riverside as Trainee Accommodation Manager.

A Mancunian, the former student nurse and care home staff member has also spent all his working life helping people in a variety of roles and he is helping provide the friendly service and support for students, which is the hallmark of Riverside.

Sebastian’s role is to help ensure every student at Riverside has the best possible experience during their time as tenants. He works hard in making sure a swift transition is complete in ensuring all residents and visitors are made to feel very welcomed upon arrival at Riverside House.

Sebastian joins a team at Riverside Salford whose professionalism and keen attention to detail sets the boutique-style, luxury student accommodation aside from the rest.

His recruitment comes as Riverside, which offers 242 hotel-class, en-suite bedrooms, celebrates its second anniversary by reaching full occupancy in record time.

Portergate managing director Karen Preece said: “We’re delighted to welcome Sebastian as the latest recruit to our growing team at Riverside.

“Hard-work, enthusiasm and attention to detail are the hallmarks of our staff at Riverside and that’s what sets us apart.

“Sebastian comes from a working background where those hallmarks are expected and delivered on a daily basis and I have no doubt that his previous experience will be a great asset to everyone at Riverside.”