Rothesay backs Fallowfield PBSA partnership as majority funder
Financial close has been reached on the £530m project, in which Equitix, Graham, and the University of Manchester will deliver 3,300 student bedspaces in a sweeping redevelopment of the student campus.
The funding model is a 50-year arrangement between the partners, with the project now able to move forward after Gateway 2 approvals were secured for the first two higher-risks buildings within the 24-acre campus in January.
Pensions insurer Rothesay is providing majority funding for the project, which will see a comprehensive overhaul of the campus in Manchester’s student heartland. Along with 3,300 bedspaces – an increase of 900 on the current capacity – the scheme includes 48,000 sq ft of amenities, including a student bar, bookable social and study spaces, music practice rooms and wellbeing facilities.
Rothesay said that the financing model has been designed to enable major long-term investment in student accommodation while protecting the university’s ability to continue investing in teaching, research, student support and staff.
The university will manage services such a cleaning, security and wellbeing guidance, with site maintenance managed separately.
Barra Mac Ruairí, chief property officer at the University of Manchester, said: “We are very pleased that by working in true partnership we looked for innovative solutions to opportunities and the inevitable challenges which working at such scale presents. Getting to this milestone was a tremendous endeavour.
“Our new Fallowfield residences are going to be among the most sustainable in the world and are designed to deliver an outstanding student experience. I’m looking forward to working with our partners as we continue to develop the site.”
Tom Pearce, chief executive of Rothesay, added: “Rothesay is committed to making high-quality investments that deliver real social and environmental value while securing the future for the nearly one million people whose pensions we protect.
“As the cornerstone funder of this innovative partnership, Rothesay is investing in the long-term future of the University of Manchester and its students. It highlights how our dedicated in-house origination team continues to provide long-term retirement certainty for Rothesay policyholders alongside supporting productive finance and economic growth across the UK.”
The partners and architect Sheppard Robson are aiming for Passivhaus status, which if attained, would make it the world’s largest single-phase Passivhaus student accommodation development.
The campus redevelopment project will be delivered in phases, with the first 1,000 rooms due to open in 2028.
Subsequent phases, including additional accommodation and the central hub facilities, will be completed in 2029, with the remaining rooms becoming available in 2030.
Neil McFarlane, strategic development director at Graham Investment Projects, said: “Significantly, Fallowfield is the largest Passivhaus student accommodation project in the world as well as being the largest pre-cast MMC-centred development in the UK, setting a new benchmark for sustainable development.
“We are proud to be at the forefront of delivering a project of this scale and together with our partners, we look forward to creating a development that will have a lasting positive impact for students, the local economy and Manchester for generations to come.”
Osborne Clarke was legal adviser and Operis financial adviser to Viridis Living LLP, Equitix and Graham’s joint venture. Ashurst Perkins Coie and AECOM worked respectively as legal and technical advisers for Rothesay. Pinsent Masons and QMPF represented the university.
Once completed, the student living space will be organised across five neighbourhoods, offering a mix of standard, premium and accessible rooms, supported by local neighbourhood hubs providing study spaces and launderette and postal services, alongside landscaped courtyards and outdoor areas.
Planning permission was secured in September last year for the scheme. Project documents can be viewed on the Manchester City COuncil planning portal, reference 142387/MO/2025.
