What happens when buildings reach the end of their operational life? Creating new or refurbished beds under a partnership gives security over the medium term, however universities are interested in what options they have when new or refurbished stock eventually reaches the end of its useful life. What is being given up, and for how long? All partnerships will involve the granting of leases, and this can be more palatable to universities than selling a freehold (which is often seen as ‘selling the family silver’). However, unlike the family silver, that can be kept in the safe, retaining student accommodation comes with significant ongoing liabilities. Control over rent levels. Universities are used to having almost complete control of their rents, which must be relinquished in a partnership. The level of retained control can differ both through the different types of partnership and how each one is structured. Typically, for a DBFO, rents are indexed (e.g. against CPI) within a collar, while for JVs there is a market review and agreement at board level. Track record of partnership. While all universities consider themselves unique in some ways, knowing that there are clear demonstrations of successful partnerships, be it in terms of the type of structure, or the potential partners themselves, provides a sense of security, reduced risk and reference point for peer ‑ to ‑ peer support. The partner’s track record in terms of delivering a consistently high ‑ quality student experience will be a major criterion. Operational control and flexibility. Most universities are used to the flexibility and control of operating their own accommodation, whether that is through an in ‑ house team or via a mix of in ‑ house personnel and short ‑ term FM contracts. They will need to consider how much of this control and flexibility they wish to retain, as different partnership structures come with different levels, regardless of whether the actual FM operations are outsourced to the partner or retained by the university. A Student First Group research report | April 2026 | Page 41