£50m to support existing and new facilities

Approximately £30million of the funding from Lloyds Bank Wholesale Banking & Markets team in Milton Keynes has been used to complete the first phase of the project. This includes the refurbishment of Simon Senlis and St Johns House halls of residence, together with the refurbishment of the Newton, Sulgrave (pictured), Fawsley and Cottesbrooke teaching buildings. As part of the extensive renovation, The University has also updated the existing sports hall fitness facility.

The remaining funding is being used to develop the St John’s halls of residence; with 475 student bedrooms on the 1.2 acre site in the heart of Northampton and a key part of a wider town centre regeneration plan.

The £25million project is scheduled for completion by the end of December 2013. The new St John’s halls are predicted to generate an extra £2.9million of spending in Northampton annually, in addition to the £225million contributed by The University to the regional economy every year.

As part of the £50million funding package from Lloyds Bank, £10million has been secured from the European Investment Bank (EIB), enabling the University to undertake the development project using discounted funding over a longer term. Lloyds Bank is one of only three banks that can access EIB capital specifically for higher or further education customers looking to carry out physical upgrading projects, including campus redevelopment, relocation, new build, science parks and student accommodation.

Professor Nick Petford, Vice Chancellor of the University of Northampton said: “We currently have around 1500 overseas students and 3000 first year students, the vast majority of whom are keen to secure residency in University accommodation. This increasingly high level of demand has really stretched our existing facilities, so we are particularly delighted to have secured the necessary funding from Lloyds Bank to commission the build of an additional hall of residence.”