25 yrs
Arranging finance
About us
A student accommodation finance arranger on the borrower's side
Led by Matt Lenzie, with 25 years and more than £500 million of UK funding arranged.
The authority behind the site
Matt Lenzie, Founder & Principal Broker
Matt Lenzie founded Student Accommodation Finance after more than 25 years arranging property and trading-business finance across the UK. Over that time he has structured and placed more than £500 million of funding, from single asset acquisitions and refinances to ground-up purpose-built student accommodation developments.
Much of that career was spent on the lender's side of the table, which is where the relationships come from. He knows how the specialist desks underwrite a student scheme: how they read the operator covenant, university demand and the nomination or direct-let income, how they treat occupancy and rental growth, and where they price the difference between a development site, a lease-up and a stabilised standing asset. That is the difference between an introduction and a funded deal.
Every enquiry is read, structured and taken to market by Matt himself. There is no junior desk and no hand-off. Operators, investors and developers deal directly with the person arranging their finance.
£500m+
Funding arranged
100+
Lender relationships
Direct
Every deal, no hand-off
What we do
We arrange finance for student accommodation across the UK. We read the scheme and the demand behind it, take the case to the lenders most likely to back it, and place the facility that funds the development, acquisition, lease-up or investment position you need. We work across development finance, forward funding and forward commitment, bridging, stabilisation finance, investment term loans, mezzanine and equity, acquisition and investment finance, and refinance.
We are an arranger and introducer, not a lender. We are paid to find the operator, investor or developer the right facility, so our incentive sits with the borrower rather than any one funder. This is finance to acquire, build or refinance student accommodation as a business or investment, not a student loan and not help with paying rent.
Why university demand and operator knowledge matter
Student accommodation lending is not underwritten like a standard commercial mortgage. The specialist desks read full-time student demand in the city, the operator covenant and track record, the split between university nomination income and direct lets, occupancy and rental growth, and they value a scheme on its stabilised income rather than bricks and mortar alone. Knowing which lender backs which scheme and operator, at what leverage and on what terms, is the difference between a deal that funds and one that stalls.
The company
Student Accommodation Finance is a trading name of Lenzie Consulting Ltd, registered in England and Wales under company number 08174104. Registered office: Lynch Farm, Kensworth, Dunstable, LU6 3QZ.
Tell us about your scheme
Send us the outline and Matt will come back with a view on fundability and likely terms.