Student accommodation is our business. We created student accommodation, and then we transformed it into the global sector it is today.
But we know that there is still more to do.
Inspired by the business model of the global hotel industry giants, we want to expand and improve the scale, reach, and quality of student accommodation around the world.
Our vision is to be the global leader in student accommodation.
Global university student numbers are growing – and so too is the need for quality student accommodation. We have a clear vision of making things better for university students and expanding branded student accommodation around the world.
Our strengths lie in our ability to research the best locations, attract the highest quality financial partners and understand the cultural needs of our customers. Our strategy is to become leaders the market in which we operate. We are absolutely focused on student accommodation, in three core areas:
Overarching this strategy is our core belief in meeting the expectations of our increasingly sophisticated young customers.
Our values are an essential part of who we are. They inform the way we look at our world, our sector and our students. From how we work as a team to how we serve our customers, we aim to ensure that everything we do fulfills these values.
To ensure a consistent culture for our people, no matter where they work we have three core values, which are integrity, commitment and energy. Our purpose is to make a real difference to the lives of our customers.
Learning activities and refresher toolkits have been developed to instill our values as behaviours in our day to day work environment. Looking forward, we will continue to create and deliver initiatives to keep our culture alive and to create a consistent employee experience wherever we operate.
Our founder, Nicholas Porter, was a pioneer of the sector in the 1990s when he founded Unite Students (previously The UNITE Group plc), the original provider of purpose-built student housing. Unite Students grew rapidly in the proceeding decade before listing on the London Stock Exchange and entering the FTSE 250. Today, it continues to be the largest provider of student accommodation to students in the UK.
After leading Unite Students’ growth, Nicholas targeted his ambition at growing student housing globally and in 2008 launched a new group, Urbanest, in Australia, before entering the UK. In 2013, GSA was formed and has now grown to over 45,000 beds including development and pipeline projects around the world, providing a growth platform for investors and aligning to the appetite of international students of today.
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In the past 30 years, the world is better connected than we could ever have imagined.
The need for students to live in safe and vibrant communities with quality accommodation helps students get the most out of university.
We have grown because we have listened and responded to the needs of university students across the world.
GSA is committed to investing responsibly and in a way that considers, and positively contributes to, the broader environment and society.
We recognise that our impact is broader than the financial value we generate. We believe that the student accommodation sector can have significant social benefits for a wide range of stakeholders.
We understand that a long-term focus on sustainability is the right thing to do, and positively impacts on value for investors and stakeholders. Investing well and responsibly will result in higher occupancy and income, and strong relationships with universities as we demonstrate our commitment to student wellbeing. It will also yield higher or improving asset values through efficient energy consumption and higher or growing asset values as we provide real estate with strong sustainability credentials that the market will demand over the long term.
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