Tiger Developments begins work on £40m student accommodation scheme in Manchester
Tiger Developments has begun construction on its latest purpose-built student accommodation development in Manchester, marking a significant addition to the city’s growing student housing market. Located on Carmoor Road within close walking distance of the University of Manchester, the new scheme will deliver 172-bedroom high-quality accommodation. On completion, the property will be managed by Host the operational business of Tiger Developments and one of the largest providers of student accommodation in the UK. The scheme has a gross development value of £40 million; the project is funded by Tiger Developments alongside funding partner Hampshire Trust Bank. Construction will be delivered by specialist main contractor GMI Construction Group, with completion scheduled for the 2027/28 academic year. To support affordability for students from lower income homes, around 15% of the rooms will be offered at discounted market rent. The development is targeting a BREEAM Excellent and EPC A ratings, reflecting a strong commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency. The Carmoor Road project is well-positioned to meet rising demand for professionally managed student housing in one of the UK’s largest university cities. It forms part of Tiger Developments’ continued expansion across key university cities in the UK, building on several other current developments, including two student accommodation schemes underway in Bristol. John Nesbitt, Executive Director at Tiger Developments, said: “We are delighted to begin construction on our latest scheme in Manchester, a city that has strong demand for well-located student accommodation. This development reflects our commitment to delivering sustainable, thoughtfully designed homes for students, while also contributing positively to the local community. Through our trusted student housing brand Host, we look forward to welcoming students in time for the 2027/28 academic year.” Andrew Dignum from Hampshire Trust Bank commented: “We are pleased to support Tiger Developments in delivering this high-quality student housing scheme in Manchester. By combining our shared expertise and aligned vision, we are bringing forward a well-designed and sustainable development that responds to clear demand in one of the UK’s strongest student markets. This collaboration reflects our commitment to building long-term partnerships with experienced teams to create lasting value.” Phil Johnson, Regional Director at GMI Construction Group said: “Appointed as main contractor for this exciting new development in Manchester, we bring extensive experience delivering high-quality projects like these across the UK. We will work closely with Tiger Developments, focusing on delivering the scheme to our exacting standards throughout the construction phase.” Tiger Developments, part of the O’Flynn Group of companies, specialises in large-scale student accommodation, co-living and commercial spaces designed to help communities flourish. Since the early 1990s, the group has delivered and owned over £2 billion in property across the living sector. Working alongside its operating brand Host, it provides a vertically integrated offering to capital partners, including the refurbishment and management of existing assets. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
BW reports record financial year as turnover hits £326.7m
BW Interiors Limited, the trading name of BW: Workplace Experts (BW), has reported a 132% increase in pre-tax profit to £13.9 million for the fiscal year ending 31 December 2025. The London office fit out and design and build specialists are now targeting £500 million turnover by 2030. BW attributes its record performance, with turnover increasing by a third to £326.7 million up from £244 million in 2024, to its strong client partnerships and high-quality delivery, supported by a strong central London office market. Companies across the capital are increasingly investing in high-quality workplace fit out as more implement return-to-office strategies. This market strength is reflected in BW’s own financial position as its net assets remain strong at £18 million, and year-end cash reserves stood at £57 million. BW came into 2026 with over £210 million in secured work for the current period and is on target to achieve £375 million turnover in 2026. £42 million has been secured for 2027 to date. The company recently completed one of its largest projects to date, a £63 million office for a tech firm in London and continues to focus on delivering projects of varying sizes, while planning to increase the number of larger schemes over the next five years across its key markets of commercial workplace and higher education, with sustained strength across the legal, tech and private equity sectors. In March 2026, BW moved into its new 16,500 sq ft office at The Carter, close to St Paul’s Cathedral, further reflecting its growth and expansion in the City of London. The BW team has grown from 65 people in 2016 to close to 320 employees this year. Steve Elliott, CEO at BW: Workplace Experts, said: “2025 was our 25th year in business and our strongest financial performance to date, a reflection of the incredible pace of growth over the past decade, where we have gone from a £60 million turnover business to £326.7 million, making BW the UK’s number two fit out contractor by brand. “We have strong ambitions for the next phase of growth and clear plans to deliver them. With turnover on target for £375 million in 2026 and £500 million by 2030, we remain focused on delivering exceptional, defect-free workplace fit out and design and build solutions across our core markets, offering our unique personable, and innovative approach to deliver high specification workplaces that people enjoy going to work at.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Quintain Living announces innovative new partnership with Benefitty to further redefine rental living
Quintain Living, the award-winning property management platform of Wembley Park developer and asset manager Quintain with 3,500+ Build-to-Rent homes within its portfolio, today announces an innovative new partnership with resident benefits platform, Benefitty. Continuing Quintain Living’s commitment to exceptional customer experience and innovative, tech-enabled operations since launching in 2016, the new partnership with Benefitty launches the Quintain Living Perks+ programme. Seamlessly integrated within Quintain Living’s award-winning Resident App, Quintain Living’s Perks+, powered by Benefitty, delivers significant savings for residents on a wide range of everyday and lifestyle spending from groceries to consumer electronics, health and wellbeing, clothing and household goods. The new partnership marks a first for Benefitty in the Build-to-Rent sector and will deliver new ancillary income for Quintain Living, furthering the operating platform’s commitment to driving value creation. Quintain Living’s 5,400+ residents at Wembley Park will now be able to access exclusive savings from c. 100 curated brand partners including Ocado, Naked Wines, Vodaphone, Michael Kors, Emma Sleep, BayBliss, Acer, Sonos, AnyVan, Laundryheap and many more. Further enhancing Quintain Living’s resident offering which already includes a comprehensive resident events programme and handpicked discounts with a variety of UK and local partners such as Samsung, Bloom & Wild, Bread Ahead and Urban, Quintain Living Perks+ will enable residents to love where they live even more with instant discounts just one tap away via the Quintain Living Resident App which is already actively used by 90% of residents. Danielle Bayless, COO, Quintain Living, comments: “We are proud, once again, to be leading the Build-to-Rent sector with this innovative new, tech-enabled offering which will further enhance the resident experience, boost resident retention rates and drive value creation. Through this exciting new partnership with Benefitty we continue to redefine rental living in the UK.” David Duggan, founder and CEO of Benefitty, said: “The BTR sector has built some of the most sophisticated residential operations in the country, but ancillary income has remained underdeveloped. We are offering operators a revenue stream that requires no capital expenditure, no rent increase and no compromise to the tenant relationship. The retailer pays for direct access to a verified, high-value demographic. The landlord earns income and improves occupancy and retention. Meanwhile, the tenant saves money on spending they were going to make anyway. It is a win-win-win proposition. BTR was the natural place to start, and early agreements with some of the biggest operators in the country tells us that was the right decision.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Knight Property Group acquires prime 6-acre development site at Hillington Park, Glasgow
Speculative industrial development project planned for Carnegie Road site Award-winning developer Knight Property Group has completed the purchase of a prominent 6-acre site at 55 Carnegie Road in Hillington Park, Glasgow, marking an exciting new phase of investment at Scotland’s largest industrial park. The site, formerly occupied by a Jewson depot, is set to be transformed, subject to planning, into a prime new build industrial development, delivering high-quality, modern industrial accommodation in one of Scotland’s most established commercial locations. Located within Hillington Park, the development offers occupiers a strategic base just two minutes from Junction 26 of the M8 motorway, providing direct access to Glasgow city centre (7 miles east), the wider Scottish motorway network and key logistics routes. The park also benefits from two railway stations, offering frequent services to Glasgow, while Glasgow Airport lies just three miles away to the west. The new scheme will deliver approximately 130,000 sq ft of high-specification industrial accommodation, designed to modern standards and offering flexible build-to-suit opportunities. Units will be available to let and will be suitable for logistics, storage, manufacturing, parcel delivery and large trade operators. Hillington Park is home to over 500 national and local businesses and supports more than 8,000 employees, with nearby occupiers including Arnold Clark, Graham Plumbers’ Merchant and Sweeney Kincaid. The park also offers extensive amenities, including an on-site nursery and gym, alongside national retailers such as Starbucks, Greggs, Burger King, Subway, Farmfoods and a Shell filling station. Knight Property Group has built a strong reputation for the successful delivery of high-quality speculative industrial developments across Scotland. James Barrack Jnr, Director of Knight Property Group commented: “We have a proven track-record in delivering high-quality speculative industrial developments across Scotland, and securing this 6-acre site at Hillington Park represents another key milestone for the business. “Hillington Park is widely recognised as Scotland’s premier industrial and business location and we are delighted to have secured this outstanding 6-acre site. Demand for high-quality, strategically located industrial space across Glasgow and the central belt remains extremely strong. This development will deliver best-in-class accommodation capable of meeting modern occupier requirements, with flexibility for build-to-suit solutions up to 130,000 sq ft, subject to planning.” Gregor Harvie, Partner of joint agents Ryden, added: “Opportunities of this scale and quality within Hillington Park are increasingly rare. With immediate access to the M8 and exceptional public transport links, the site is ideally suited to logistics, trade counter and manufacturing occupiers seeking a highly prominent and connected base in Glasgow. We anticipate strong levels of interest.” For further information or to discuss occupier requirements, please contact the joint agents, Graham & Sibbald or Ryden. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Henry Brothers starts work on hospital stroke unit refurbishment
Contractor Henry Brothers Construction, headquartered in Magherafelt, has started work on a project to expand the Stroke Unit at Lincoln County Hospital. The £1.9m scheme – the first of two phases – includes the reconfiguration of Navenby Ward to increase capacity at the Stroke Unit. Two five-bay wards will be merged into a single Hyper Acute Stroke Unit (HASU), with layout changes to ancillary compartments, and mechanical, electrical and plumbing modernisation. The existing ward will be given a refresh with new joinery, floors, doors, decoration, ceiling and lights. MD of Henry Brothers Construction Ian Taylor said: “We are very pleased to have begun work on this project at Lincoln County Hospital which will improve patient services and provide a more attractive place for hospital staff to work. “Henry Brothers Construction is currently delivering a number of healthcare schemes for hospitals across the East Midlands, and has recently completed a new Endoscopy Unit in Leicester. We are extremely proud to play a part in supporting our local hospitals as they enhance their buildings and facilities to deliver even better care for patients.” United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust appointed Henry Brothers Construction to the project under the Pagabo Refit and Refurbishment Framework. Other team members involved in phase one of the refurbishment include Day Architectural, who are providing architectural, project management and quantity surveying services, and DSSR, who are undertaking the mechanical and electrical engineering services. Following refurbishment of Navenby Ward, phase two of the scheme will begin on refurbishing the existing Stroke Unit. Henry Brothers Construction is part of The Henry Group, which comprises a number of manufacturing and construction sector companies, ranging from external construction through to interiors fit out. In partnership with its valued clients, it has a proven track record in education, defence, commercial, industrial, transport and healthcare sectors. For more information, visit henrybrothers.co.uk/ Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
VINCI Energies acquires Novo Technologies Ltd, one of the leading providers of telecoms infrastructure services in the UK
Established in 2016, Novo Technologies is an independent provider of end-to-end telecoms infrastructure solutions for both Carriers and Enterprise clients, delivering mobile network projects across the UK, with strong relationships across the telecoms and infrastructure sector. Russell CRAMPIN, Perimeter Director, VINCI Energies in the UK & ROI, said: “This acquisition is a core part of our strategic direction over the next three years. As connectivity continues to underpin the digital transformation of businesses’ sites and field-based activity, strengthening our capabilities in wireless infrastructure delivery was a natural next step. I’m delighted to welcome our 71 new colleagues from Novo Technologies into our business. We are confident we can provide an environment that supports personal development, encourages knowledge sharing, and enables us to deliver even greater value to our customers. We look forward to working with the team as we continue to build on the next stage of Novo Technologies’ journey.” Matt WYNNE, Managing Director of Novo Technologies, said: “This marks an important step for us at Novo Technologies. Joining VINCI Energies will give us the scale and capability to respond to the growing demand for projects supporting the UK’s wireless connectivity ambition. Our values as a business aligned fantastically with those of VINCI Energies, which made this a natural fit, providing a strong foundation for aligning our teams and strategy. It also represents a significant opportunity for our people, opening up new doors, opportunities and long-term growth.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals