A £60 million agreement has been signed for the freehold of King’s Place at 325 Borough High Street in Southwark, opening the way for a substantial student-accommodation project in central London. The proposed scheme would provide 444 student beds alongside a separate eight-unit block for key workers.
The buyer’s UK joint-venture vehicle has entered into a sale and purchase agreement for the site. The transaction has been announced, but it has not yet been presented as complete: the proposed development remains subject to completion of the acquisition. The current timetable indicates that the purchase and the start of construction are targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026.
King’s Place sits in London Zone 1, at 325 Borough High Street, with Borough Underground station about four minutes away on foot and Elephant & Castle station around eight minutes away. The location is also within walking distance of several higher-education campuses, including King’s College London’s Guy’s campus. That proximity is central to the plan to create purpose-built accommodation for students rather than conventional private housing.
The 444-bed element would be purpose-built student accommodation, commonly known as PBSA. It would be accompanied by a smaller, separate block of eight homes for key workers. The published plans also refer to communal lounges, health and wellbeing facilities and outdoor space. These are proposed features, rather than facilities already open to residents.
A key regulatory step has already been completed. The development has Gateway 2 approval, which allows construction to begin. The scheme is targeting practical completion in 2029, before the 2029/30 academic year. It is also aiming for a BREEAM Outstanding sustainability rating. Those dates and targets should be read as the project team’s current programme, not as a guarantee of delivery.
The agreement represents the first London development for the Far East UK Student Accommodation Development Fund. King’s Place is its third acquisition and takes its development pipeline across London, Manchester and Glasgow to 956 student beds. The acquisition vehicle is majority owned by that fund, with two co-investors holding minority stakes. Once the project reaches practical completion, it is expected to be operated by a student-accommodation business within the same wider group.
For Southwark, the deal is notable because it concerns a freehold redevelopment site rather than an existing operating residence. The immediate change is therefore commercial: control of the site is being transferred under the agreement. The housing, amenities and student occupation described in the plans would follow only after the acquisition is completed and construction is carried out.
A separate legal matter remains unresolved. The seller is involved in ongoing High Court proceedings with the owner of an adjoining property over an alleged rights-of-light infringement connected with the proposed development. No decision or outcome is stated in the disclosures. The buyer has said it does not expect the potential effect of that proceeding on its group to be material, but the matter remains part of the project’s disclosed context.
The planned completion date leaves several years for the transaction, construction and fit-out stages. If delivered on the stated timetable, King’s Place would add a sizeable new purpose-built student scheme close to Borough and Elephant & Castle, while the smaller key-worker block would form a distinct part of the development.
