Table 5.1 : Types of PBSA ownership and partnership in the UK Who owns it? Who operates it? Who sets the rent and licence lengths? How many beds in the UK? University University University University c. 272,000 More University control Less University control Finance lease (income strip) University with lease to funder University University (to cover finance costs) c. 11,000 Operating lease Private investor with lease to University Private operator (hard FM); university (soft FM) University (to cover lease rent) Joint Venture (JV) JV between University and partner JV JV c. 4,300 under development Design, Build, Finance, Operate (DBFO) University with lease to partner Partner (hard FM) Partner or university (soft FM) Index and collar c. 62,000 Nomination agreements Private investor Private operator Negotiated with private operator Reservation agreements Private investor Private operator Private operator Direct let Private investor Private operator Private operator c. 416,000 A Student First Group research report | April 2026 | Page 39