Dominus and Cheyne Capital have secured £250M of debt from Standard Chartered to fund the ongoing transformation of a former office building at 65 Fleet Street into a student living scheme, following a strong quarter for student living deals.

The 13-storey, 370K SF gross internal area scheme will create 875 student rooms, 35% of which will be offered at affordable rents capped by the mayor of London, alongside facilities including private dining rooms, a gym and wellness facilities. Eastdil Secured advised on the financing transaction.

Alongside the purpose-built student accommodation, the development will deliver cultural space on the ground and lower ground floors, including the restoration of London’s oldest Irish pub, the Grade II-listed Tipperary. Dominus is also creating new public access to the Grade II-listed Whitefriars Crypt, the last remaining element of the 13th-century Whitefriars Monastery.

After Dominus secured Gateway 2 approval last year, construction is underway by main contractor HG Construction, and the scheme is due for completion in summer 2028, in time for the 2028-2029 academic year. The retrofit will retain 75% of the existing structure, targeting a BREEAM Outstanding rating and CRREM alignment.

Once complete, it will form part of Dominus’ 2,300-bed student portfolio at three London locations: 65 Fleet Street, 65 Crutched Friars and 65 Holborn Viaduct.

“We continue to see strong opportunity in London’s PBSA market, driven by growing demand for high-quality, city-centre student accommodation,” Cheyne Capital Real Estate Group Director Hamish Gordon said in a statement.

The funding comes as Knight Frank has revealed that investors deployed £2.1B into UK PBSA in the first quarter, the strongest start to a year for the sector in more than a decade. Knight Frank valued the professionally managed student accommodation market at £84.8B as of April.

Five of the 20 deals transacting in the first quarter were valued in excess of £150M, notably the completion of Unite Group’s acquisition of Empiric Student Property for circa £720M and adding around 7,700 beds across 68 assets in 22 cities to the Unite platform.

“While the opening quarter was capital heavy, it was not deal heavy,” Knight Frank joint Head of Student Property Merelina Sykes said of the findings.

A total of 20 transactions completed during the quarter, broadly consistent with long-term norms, indicating that activity was driven by several capital-intensive transactions.

According to Knight Frank, 65% of transactions in the first quarter were operational asset sales, with land transactions representing 20% of activity and joint venture structures the remaining 15%.

“The tilt towards a preference by investors for existing assets is expected to continue in 2026, with investor demand concentrated on mid market and lower entry pricing points, particularly assets offering embedded rental reversion while retaining alignment with affordable market thresholds,” Knight Frank research associate Katie O’Neill said.