Portergate News

The most luxurious student accommodation in Lancashire is ready to open its doors to the 2016-17 in-take at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in Preston.

Friargate Court – designed and managed by the expert team here at Portergate – is a 244-bedroom residence in the heart of the city’s University Quarter.

The complex will be officially opened on September 19 ready for the new academic year and bookings have already been taken from students eager to be the first to live in the most desirable student address in the city.

Our debut student residence, Riverside House in Salford, has provided the blueprint for Friargate Court and it has been a huge success, selling out in only its second year since opening.

Our high standard of accommodation and hands-on management appeals to students who want more than the basic student living style and to their parents who welcome the care and attention offered by the 24/7 staff.

Prices at Friargate Court will start from £135 for a fully furnished and well-equipped en suite bedroom in a standard apartment containing between two and five bedrooms, a living area and large kitchen.

Large standard, standard, superior and studio apartments are also available to rent now through our own website – www.friargatecourt.com – or through the  Property Place in Manchester.

The £18 million investment in student living in Preston is being overseen by our managing director Karen Preece. She says: “We are excited to be taking bookings at Friargate Court as we have been inundated with enquiries from both the UK and all parts of the world.

“UCLan is a vibrant, popular university, attracting students from all walks of life and the university has ambitious plans for making the campus even better.

“Friargate Court will be setting a very high standard for student accommodation and that can only be good for UCLan as it aims to attract the best students from around the world.”

Here at Portergate we pride ourselves on the quality and levels of service and support residents at our hotel-class properties receive once they move in and recruitment is underway for the best staff to run the residence.

As Karen says: “Everyone who works at Portergate is very passionate about what we do, with a total commitment to quality and that’s what the new team we will be recruiting at Friargate Court will deliver.”

Lancashire’s first bespoke accommodation aimed at apprentices, first-time employees and key workers is set to open in Preston in September.

By providing modern, affordable homes for young workers, the development company behind the newly built £18 million residential complex in the city’s University Quarter is looking to help halt the ‘brain drain’ affecting efforts to revitalise the region’s economy.

There is growing concern in Lancashire about the impact of people in their twenties leaving the region for the south east.

New research from consultancy KPMG has revealed the number of 25-34 year olds in Lancashire fell by more than 10 per cent between 1993 and 2013.

And there are fears the exodus of young workers from the North of England will impede efforts to establish the burgeoning Northern Powerhouse economic regeneration project.

Portergate, the North West-based property firm behind Friargate Court, says 63 of its apartments and studios in the new development will cater for the demand for post-college and university housing for young people who are starting their working lives.

Company bosses believe the availability of quality, affordable student-style accommodation could be one of the key factors in helping to keep young people in the area once their studies are completed.

The accommodation is also aimed at apprentices and young workers at the new Lancashire Enterprise Zone, which will form a centre of excellence for high technology manufacturing, generating wealth-creating benefits for the whole county.

It aims to create 6,000 highly skilled jobs, plus a further 5,000 to 7,000 in the local supply chain. Advanced manufacturing and aerospace firms such as BAE Systems also have expanding apprenticeship programmes aimed at attracting talent to the sector.

Friargate Court is an £18 million mixed use development on Friargate, next to the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), with key worker accommodation, student apartments and shops and cafes.

It will be managed 24/7 by Portergate Property Management with a daytime accommodation manager, concierge, housekeepers, on-site maintenance and overnight manned security all included in the rental.

Karen Preece, Portergate’s managing director, says: “We have a lot of experience in the student accommodation sector and we know there is a demand for young people to continue their student lifestyle once they start their working lives.

“We hope that by offering this type of accommodation we will help persuade more young people to remain in the area once their studies are over. We also hope apprentices and key workers will be attracted by the lifestyle we can offer them in the heart of the city.

“Many are simply not ready or able to buy a home or move into more traditional property types. They have grown up with shared student accommodation and like it.

“What we offer over and above the norm is secure, well-managed, high spec homes they can live in for as long as they want hassle-free and concentrate on making a success of their working and personal lives.

“It’s a smart way for young people to manage the stresses of modern life and it will be a big success. We believe we are creating an entirely new sector in the UK housing market.”

The complex is being finished over the summer by Preston-based Eric Wright Construction ready for the autumn. Enquiries and bookings are already being taken from young people eager to be the first to live in the most desirable new address in the city.

Portergate’s debut residence, Riverside House in Salford, has provided the blueprint for Friargate Court and it has been a huge success, selling out in only its second year since opening.

Portergate’s accommodation and hands-on management appeals to students, key workers and apprentices looking for a more than basic student or post-graduate living style, as well as their parents who welcome the care and attention offered by the staff.

<img class="size-medium wp-image-1713 alignleft" src="http://studentaccommodation.properties/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160712_144554-300×83.jpg" alt="20160712_144554" width="300" height="83" srcset="http://studentaccommodation.properties/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160712_144554-300×83.jpg 300w, http://studentaccommodation.properties/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160712_144554-768×212.jpg 768w, http://studentaccommodation my site.properties/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160712_144554.jpg 1024w, http://studentaccommodation.properties/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160712_144554-940×260.jpg 940w” sizes=”(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px” />Prices at Friargate Court will start from £135 for a fully furnished and well-equipped en suite room in a standard apartment containing between two and five bedrooms, a living area and large kitchen.

Large standard, superior and studio apartments are available to rent now through Portergate’s own website – www.friargatecourt.com – or through the joint agents, the Property Place in Manchester and a Preston-based agent.

Karen Preece adds: “We are excited to be taking bookings at Friargate Court; we have been inundated with enquiries from both the UK and from overseas students from all parts of the world.

“Preston is a vibrant, popular city attracting young people from all walks of life and the university next door to Friargate Court has ambitious plans for making its campus even better.

“Friargate Court will be setting a very high standard for its accommodation and that can only be good for Preston and Lancashire and its employers aiming to attract workers.”

Portergate prides itself on the quality and levels of service and support residents at its hotel-class properties receive once they move in and recruitment is underway for the best staff to run the residence.

Karen continued: “The tremendously high standards Portergate sets reflect the demands and expectations of today’s young people, as well as their parents, who expect their sons and daughters to live in well designed, safe accommodation while they make a home away from home.

“Everyone who works at Portergate is very passionate about what we do, with a total commitment to quality and that’s what the new team we will be recruiting at Friargate Court will deliver.”

Paul Walton, director of PWA Planning, a Preston-based town planning and development consultancy, said: “Intermediate housing, which can bridge the gap between student accommodation and more traditional market housing, has a crucial part to play in the economic success of Preston, be this housing intended to provide accommodation for workers in key services, or transitional accommodation for recent graduates or apprentices.

“The latter is something which is key to a city like Preston, where the retention of recent graduates, particularly from UCLan, is crucial to assisting in limiting the movement of talent towards the perceived riches of the South East region and even the bigger cities of the North West.”

Notes To Editors

For more information, interviews and images, please contact Neil Thornton:

1. neil@thorntonmedia.co.uk
2. +44 (0)7852 334 343

www.thorntonmedia.co.uk

Student accommodation expert Portergate is launching a recruitment drive to create the team that will manage and operate its new £18 million development in the heart of Preston.

The new recruits will deliver the group’s boutique hotel-style service at Friargate Court once it opens its doors to welcome students at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) later this year.

The 244-bedroom development, which is helping kick-start the regeneration of Friargate, is also aimed at employees in Preston’s high-tech manufacturing sector and Lancashire’s new Enterprise Zone.

Vacancies exist for a range of positions from housekeeping to concierge. Initial interviews for the posts will take place during the summer. Portergate is looking to build up a 10-strong team of highly-committed workers.

Portergate Property Management (PPM) has already made its first staff appointments at Friargate as it looks to create its Preston team.

Elaine Mason will be the development’s accommodation manager and Steven Dyson will be in charge of maintenance. Both will also carry out the same role at Portergate’s highly-successful flagship Riverside House student accommodation in Salford.

Elaine, from Lytham, brings with her a wealth of experience in the hotel and education sectors, including life as housemistress at a boarding school for girls. She has also worked for hotel groups across the UK.

Steven, from south Manchester, is experienced in a whole host of trades – from electrics and plumbing to joinery – which are ideal in fulfilling the role of ensuring both Portergate developments are properly looked after.

Work is continuing to complete the construction of Friargate Court, which sits near the city’s University Quarter, and the recruitment process is being timed to coincide with the final stages leading to its official opening.

Portergate prides itself on the quality and levels of service and support residents at its hotel-class properties receive once they move in.

Managing Director Karen Preece said: “Our recruitment process will get underway shortly. We’re looking for people who bring the right sort of experience and attitude, who understand the ethos and values of our business.

“The tremendously high standards Portergate sets 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.

“Everyone who works at Portergate is very passionate about what it does, with a total commitment to quality and that’s what the team we will be recruiting at Friargate will deliver.”

The Friargate development is part of Portergate’s ambitious North West expansion plans. It is currently under construction by the Preston-based Eric Wright group and is scheduled to be completed in the autumn.

Portergate’s successful Riverside House student accommodation in Salford has been a major success story and welcomes students from across the globe.

Ambitious plans for the £9 million second phase of the acclaimed Riverside House development in Salford have been given the green light by city planners.

Portergate Developments has got the go-ahead to create 45 luxury one, two and three bedroom apartments, along with a convenience store and café on a prime site, next to its successful student accommodation building on the banks of the River Irwell.

The apartments, many with balconies and river views, will be managed by Portergate’s property management arm and are aimed at young professionals, key workers and first time buyers.

The project will become the only bespoke private apartment residence, including a number of duplex apartments, on the stretch of the Irwell that leads directly into Manchester’s Cathedral Quarter and main shopping district.

The café will be located on the first floor of the development to give it river views. The plan also involves a central landscaped courtyard along with improvements to the riverside walkway and secure car parking for residents.

Anthony Jackson, chairman of Portergate Developments, believes Phase II of Riverside, on a vacant site backing onto St Simon Street, will also play another key role in the continued regeneration of the area, providing much needed homes for ambitious young people in the city.

The development, next to Riverside House’s popular boutique-style student accommodation, has been designed by leading North West architectural practice Studio KMA.

Work on the development will now get underway later this year with building work scheduled for completion in 2017.

Anthony Jackson said: “Riverside House has been a major success story for us. Students from across the world enjoy the experience of living here and the demand for these apartments is testament to the quality of the accommodation and the service provided.

“We’re very excited by the next phase of Riverside which promises to be even more successful, with well-designed, prestigious apartments aimed at graduates, young professionals and key workers.

“Salford City Council planners agreed with us there is strong demand for this stylish brand of city living in the area.

“And, coupled with the strong retail and restaurant offering, we believe this development at Riverside is something the area is crying out for.

“We’re also already seeing a lot of interest in this second phase from existing and new investors and our aim is to deliver a quality building that is as stylish and welcoming as Riverside House.

Andrew Titterton, director of Oldham-based Studio KMA, said: “The new development will replace a vacant depot site with a high quality residential-led mixed use development.

“It will also improve the pedestrian link between St Simon Street and the River Irwell, which will benefit people living in the area.

“The aim of our design was to provide further choice to apartment living in Salford. The development is made up of both single and dual aspect accommodation, a number of which are duplex layouts.”

“We’re looking forward to seeing our plans developed into vibrant, much needed homes for young people, filling a real need in the area.”

Luxury student accommodation provider Portergate has welcomed a milestone agreement between the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) and the Middle East.

UCLan has signed two international agreements worth a combined £6.5 million to deliver courses in the Middle East.

The first of these contracts will see UCLan extend its long-term partnership with the International College of Engineering and Management (ICEM) in the Sultanate of Oman for a further five years.

The milestone agreement means students will be able to complete their undergraduate degree courses in Oman, while the Preston-based university will strengthen its ties to an important region.

Portergate, whose £18 million Friargate Court student residence is on course to open in September this year in Preston’s University Quarter, has strong links with the Middle East through its first hotel-class residence, Riverside House in Salford.

Karen Preece, managing director of Portergate, says their high standards of accommodation and first class 24/7 management means Portergate has always been popular with students and their families from Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

“We always welcome greater international links for our universities since many of our residents come from overseas.

“From the enquiries we receive and the number of students who book accommodation with us, it’s clear they value the standard of accommodation, our facilities and our hands-on management that keep students informed, safe and happy.

“In Preston, we are looking forward to opening in September as construction of the 244-room residence, to be called Friargate Court, is progressing very well indeed.

“We are also already receiving a lot of enquiries for the September intake so word about Friargate Court and what we will be offering Preston’s students is already spreading.”

UCLan-approved courses in Oman are focused on providing a truly world-class higher education learning environment based on practical vocational teaching with a strong bias towards producing graduates who are ‘employer ready’, well rounded and internationally experienced.

The programmes will generate graduates who are highly trained and highly employable, both vocationally and academically, ready to apply their skills to national and global challenges.

Pro Chancellor and Chair of the University Board David Taylor, who led the visits to Qatar and Oman to agree the deals, said: “The extension of our partnership is a real milestone and evidence of its past success, while the new relationship with Qatar will complement this and the University’s other global partnerships, such as those in China and Mauritius.

“What’s more these initiatives will result in enormous benefits for students. For instance, they’ll have access to world-class facilities, they’ll be taught by academic staff with wide ranging industrial experience and they’ll benefit from collaborative research which will feed into the teaching curriculum.

“The programmes will generate graduates who are highly trained and highly employable, both vocationally and academically, ready to apply their skills to national and global challenges.”

Plans to build what could be the only luxury homes on the Irwell riverbank between Broughton Bridge and Trinity Way have been drawn up by an ambitious Manchester developer.

Plans for the £9 million investment project have been submitted to Salford Council for approval by Portergate Developments aiming to deliver the second phase of the acclaimed Riverside House development in Blackfriars Road and St Simon Street.

The riverfront apartment scheme promises to add another exciting chapter to both the growth of the forward-thinking development company and the continuing regeneration of Salford.

Portergate is seeking planning consent to create 45 luxury one, two and three bedroom apartments, along with a convenience store and café on the prime site, next to the successful £8 million hotel-style student accommodation building on the banks of the River Irwell.

The apartments, many with balconies and river views, will be managed by Portergate’s property management arm and are aimed at young professionals, key workers and first time buyers.

The project will become the only bespoke private apartment residence, including a number of duplex apartments, on the stretch of the Irwell that leads directly into Manchester’s Cathedral Quarter and main shopping district.

The café will be located on the first floor of the development to give it river views.

The proposed plan also involves improvements to the riverside walkway and secure car parking for residents try this.

Anthony Jackson, chairman of Portergate Developments, is confident the development will attract investors, including those who have already seen good returns from their initial investment in Riverside House.

He believes Phase II of Riverside, on a vacant 2,350 sq metre site backing onto St Simon Street, will also play another key role in the continued regeneration of the area, providing much needed homes for ambitious young people in the city.

A planning application has been submitted to Salford City Council and the proposals are set to be discussed early next year.

The proposed development has been designed by leading North West architect practice Studio KMA.

The decision to go ahead with the development follows the continuing success of Riverside House, which is now attracting students from across the globe and sold out its 242 hotel-class rooms in record time this September.

Anthony Jackson said: “Riverside House has been a major success story for us. Students really enjoy the experience of living there and the demand for apartments is testament to the quality of the accommodation and the service provided.

“The next phase of Riverside promises to be even more successful, with luxury apartments aimed at graduates, young professionals and key workers.

“We believe there is a massive demand for this well-designed style of city living in the area and, coupled with the strong retail and restaurant offering, it is something the community in the area is crying out for.

“We’re already seeing a lot of interest in this second phase from existing and new investors, who are excited by the plans we have drawn up to deliver a building that is as stylish and welcoming as Riverside House.

“It really is a question of watch this space! We will be looking to start work on the development as soon as we get planning permission.”

Andrew Titterton, director of Oldham-based Studio KMA, said: “The proposal substitutes a vacant depot site with a high quality residential-led mixed use development.

“It also improves upon the pedestrian link between St Simon Street and the River Irwell, an immeasurable benefit to the surrounding residential area.

“The aim has to provide further choice to apartment living in Salford. The proposal comprises both single and dual aspect accommodation a number of which are duplex layouts.”

Meanwhile, work continues on the construction of Portergate’s £18 million regeneration mixed use project in the centre of Preston, Lancashire.

The transformation of the 1.5 acre site near the city’s University Quarter will bring also smart new retail premises onto Friargate and the building is now beginning to take shape.

The development, which will be completed next year, will deliver boutique hotel-style accommodation to students studying at the nearby University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).

The 244 bedroomed building sits on the edge of the area earmarked for the university’s ambitious £200m regeneration plans.

Part of the 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.

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