Londonderry House, 2 Newton Street, Birmingham

Description

A vacant leasehold purpose-built 175-bedroom student accommodation block situated in Birmingham City Centre. An eight-storey block of student accommodation constructed on the top of a car park, vacant since 2021.

Accommodation

Ground floor: main entrance off Newton Road with reception area, office with kitchen, laundry room, utility rooms for electricity and water, storage rooms and a large covered car parking area accessed off Dale End. Floors 9-16 comprise 175 student units: 167 en suite rooms and 8 studios. Floor 9 has 21 bedrooms; floors 10-16 have 154 bedrooms. Each cluster unit has en suite facilities and a shared kitchen. Studios comprise an open-plan bedroom/kitchenette and shower room/WC. Each floor has lift access and a staircase. The roof area houses a lift engine room, generator room and water tank room.

Location

Situated in Birmingham City Centre, within close proximity to Aston and Birmingham City Universities.

Tenure / Property Information

Investment Analysis

No completed-sale comparables, rental comparables, auctioneer rent estimate, condition survey, refurbishment budget or supported GDV are provided. The £850,000+ guide equates to approximately £4,857 per bedroom, but this is not a market valuation. The asset is a vacant 175-bedroom leasehold student accommodation block with approximately 72 years remaining, and the proposed revised superior lease with Birmingham City Council was not completed. Market value, operating value and resale value cannot be reliably established from the evidence supplied.

Investment Snapshot

Strategy Recommendation

Do not bid on the current evidence alone. Treat only as a specialist student-accommodation opportunity subject to satisfactory legal review, confirmation of lease and superior-lease position, full building/services inspection, verified operating income assumptions and an independent valuation.

Works Required

No specific refurbishment works can be supported from the supplied evidence. Before bidding, obtain a full building and services survey, review the EPC and legal pack, verify the condition of the vacant accommodation and common areas, and obtain a costed plan for any recommissioning or refurbishment identified.

Rental & Market Context

Potential BRRR Position

A BRRR analysis cannot be completed without supported rents, refurbishment costs, GDV and lending assumptions. The leasehold term of approximately 72 years, unresolved superior-lease arrangements and vacant condition create material refinance and valuation uncertainty. The £2,700 buyer administration charge is known, but other special-condition costs are not provided.

Buy-to-Let Analysis

A BTL yield cannot be established because no sufficiently specific rental evidence or auctioneer rent estimate is supplied. The building has been vacant since 2021, so there is no supported passing income. Any assessment would also need operating costs, utility costs, management costs, compliance status and a verified letting strategy for the 175 units.

Flip Analysis

A flip analysis cannot be quantified because no GDV, completed-sale comparables, refurbishment budget or selling-cost allowance is supplied. The property may require substantial specialist due diligence due to its vacancy since 2021, 175-room scale and lease structure, but the evidence does not establish the works or resale value.

Investor Risks & Due Diligence

• Approximately 72 years remain on the lease.

• The lease contains provisions linked to a revised superior lease with Birmingham City Council, but those arrangements were not completed.

• The property has been vacant since 2021, with no supported passing rent.

• No sufficiently specific rental comparable or auctioneer rent estimate is supplied.

• Condition, EPC and council-tax details are referred to the legal pack and have not been provided.

• Additional costs beyond the £2,700 administration charge may be payable under the special conditions.

• The completion period is 6 weeks, or 42 days.

• The scale of the asset creates significant operating and letting-execution requirements, but no operating budget is supplied.

Recommendation

Do not bid on the current evidence alone. Treat only as a specialist student-accommodation opportunity subject to satisfactory legal review, confirmation of lease and superior-lease position, full building/services inspection, verified operating income assumptions and an independent valuation.

Strategy Rating

Analysis Confidence

Core valuation inputs are absent: no sold comparables, rental evidence, condition report, refurbishment costs, GDV, operating costs or complete legal-pack information. Lease duration and unresolved superior-lease arrangements add further uncertainty.