The directors present the strategic report for the year ended 31 August 2024.
The group’s turnover increased during the year from £2.6m to £6.9m as a result of Host winning new operational management contracts, asset management, and a development in Bristol which has been forward funded under an agreement in May 2024 £3.9m (2023: Nil).
The overall net loss for the year was £0.21m (2023: loss of £0.60m) which was an improved position and includes costs of restructuring and investment in its new state of the art Property Management System (PMS). The restructuring of the operational business is to ensure that Host is structured appropriately to support its long-term growth plans. The PMS has now been successfully deployed which enables seamless transition and onward view towards future products in both accounting and asset management/investor reporting.
At the year-end, the group had net assets of £2.6m (2023: £2.8m). The group's working capital over the past few years has been invested into progressing two sites in Bristol, and both sites are now under development in 2025, targeting practical completion in 2026 and 2027. This has enabled the group to use recovered capital to seek new opportunities within the development market, whilst also providing further liquidity via a development management fee. Liquidity has also been provided in 24/25 through the recovery of work in progress and a performance fee on a long-standing asset sold in April 2025.
The Host Group manages a large portfolio of student beds, achieving an average occupancy of 97% in 23/24 and 97% for 24/25. The introduction of tiered pricing across its assets has resulted in uplifted revenues, with the majority of assets outperforming their business plans. In August 2025, Host onboarded 6 new assets - an immediate reflection of the key hires made and fast changing reputation within the industry.
The outlook for the business remains highly positive. In 2025, the Group will make its first entry into the co-living sector through the launch of an award-winning asset in Guildford, delivered by the Bowmore Partnership, in which Host is a minority investor. The Group also achieved a total profit for the year as a result of restructuring its operational platform and securing new management contracts. The Group continues to pursue growth opportunities through additional management mandates and is progressing the development of its Bristol schemes, scheduled for completion in 2026 and 2027 respectively.
The group’s performance is tied to the student property sector which is dependent upon the success of UK universities and their ability to attract international students. Higher education policy and Brexit will impact this on the demand side and the provision of new developments will impact on the supply side. The student accommodation market is competitive but has significant growth potential due to the continued expansion of higher education, increasing international student mobility and evolving student expectations. Investors are increasingly drawn to the PBSA sector. They recognise the important role it now plays in the wider UK housing landscape. Overall, the PBSA sector continued to be the ‘darling’ of the Alternative sectors – and it is set to outweigh other living asset classes over the next 12 months, according to the BNP Paribas Real Estate report (UK Living Market Update Q2 2024).
Competition is a significant risk to the company and there are a number of major competitors in the sector. The company’s focus is on operational proficiency and as a vertically integrated platform can advise on the full lifecycle of assets. Host has differentiated ourselves with a focus on digital engagement and community building along with a focus on sustainability and wellness amenities to appeal to Gen Z’s priorities. Host’s customers are digital natives and by optimising our digital presence, offering a seamless online experience the company will continue to grow.
The group is also reliant on investors, and in turn the capital markets, to fund projects where the company acquires an option to purchase and then incurs planning and development costs which are expected to be recovered.
On behalf of the board
The directors present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2024.
The results for the year are set out on page 8.
No ordinary dividends were paid. The directors do not recommend payment of a further dividend.
The directors who held office during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were as follows:
The auditor, Begbies, is deemed to be reappointed under section 487(2) of the Companies Act 2006.
This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies entitled to the medium-sized companies exemption.
We have audited the financial statements of Host Student Housing Limited (the 'parent company') and its subsidiaries (the 'group') for the year ended 31 August 2024 which comprise the group statement of comprehensive income, the group balance sheet, the group statement of changes in equity, the company statement of changes in equity, the group statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Basis for opinion
Conclusions relating to going concern
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the group's and parent company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Other information
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:
The information given in the strategic report and the directors' report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
The strategic report and the directors' report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
Agreement of the financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;
Enquiries and confirmation of management and the directors as to their identification of any non-compliance with laws or regulations, or any actual or potential claims;
Incorporating unpredictability into the nature, timing and/or extent of testing;
Evaluation of the selection and application of the accounting policies chosen by the company;
In relation to the risk of management override of internal controls, by undertaking procedures to review journal entries and evaluating whether there was evidence of bias that represented a risk of material misstatement due to fraud; and
We assessed the susceptibility of the company’s financial statements to material misstatement, including how fraud might occur by considering the key risks impacting the financial statements.
Our audit procedures were designed to respond to risks of material misstatement in the financial statements, recognising that the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery, misrepresentations or through collusion.
There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures performed and the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we are to become aware of it.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
As permitted by s408 Companies Act 2006, the company has not presented its own profit and loss account and related notes. The company’s profit for the year was £0 (2023 - £77,360 profit).
Host Student Housing Limited (“the company”) is a private limited company domiciled and incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 9 Bonhill Street, London, EC2A 4DJ.
The group consists of Host Student Housing Limited and all of its subsidiaries.
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
The company is a qualifying entity for the purposes of FRS 102, being a member of a group where the parent of that group prepares publicly available consolidated financial statements, including this company, which are intended to give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the group. The company has therefore taken advantage of exemptions from the following disclosure requirements for parent company information presented within the consolidated financial statements:
Section 7 ‘Statement of Cash Flows’: Presentation of a statement of cash flow and related notes and disclosures;
Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instrument Issues: Interest income/expense and net gains/losses for financial instruments not measured at fair value; basis of determining fair values; details of collateral, loan defaults or breaches, details of hedges, hedging fair value changes recognised in profit or loss and in other comprehensive income;
Section 26 ‘Share based Payment’: Share-based payment expense charged to profit or loss, reconciliation of opening and closing number and weighted average exercise price of share options, how the fair value of options granted was measured, measurement and carrying amount of liabilities for cash-settled share-based payments, explanation of modifications to arrangements;
Section 33 ‘Related Party Disclosures’: Compensation for key management personnel.
The consolidated group financial statements consist of the financial statements of the parent company Host Student Housing Limited together with all entities controlled by the parent company (its subsidiaries) and the group’s share of its interests in joint ventures and associates.
All financial statements are made up to 31 August 2024. Where necessary, adjustments are made to the financial statements of subsidiaries to bring the accounting policies used into line with those used by other members of the group.
All intra-group transactions, balances and unrealised gains on transactions between group companies are eliminated on consolidation. Unrealised losses are also eliminated unless the transaction provides evidence of an impairment of the asset transferred.
Subsidiaries are consolidated in the group’s financial statements from the date that control commences until the date that control ceases.
Entities in which the group holds an interest and which are jointly controlled by the group and one or more other venturers under a contractual arrangement are treated as joint ventures. Entities other than subsidiary undertakings or joint ventures, in which the group has a participating interest and over whose operating and financial policies the group exercises a significant influence, are treated as associates.
Investments in joint ventures and associates are carried in the group balance sheet at cost plus post-acquisition changes in the group’s share of the net assets of the entity, less any impairment in value. The carrying values of investments in joint ventures and associates include acquired goodwill.
If the group’s share of losses in a joint venture or associate equals or exceeds its investment in the joint venture or associate, the group does not recognise further losses unless it has incurred obligations to do so or has made payments on behalf of the joint venture or associate.
Unrealised gains arising from transactions with joint ventures and associates are eliminated to the extent of the group’s interest in the entity.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the directors continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Turnover represents amounts receivable in respect of property services net of VAT.
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the profit and loss account.
Equity investments are measured at fair value through profit or loss, except for those equity investments that are not publicly traded and whose fair value cannot otherwise be measured reliably, which are recognised at cost less impairment until a reliable measure of fair value becomes available.
In the parent company financial statements, investments in subsidiaries, associates and jointly controlled entities are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost less any accumulated impairment losses.
A subsidiary is an entity controlled by the group. Control is the power to govern the financial and operating policies of the entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities.
An associate is an entity, being neither a subsidiary nor a joint venture, in which the company holds a long-term interest and where the company has significant influence. The group considers that it has significant influence where it has the power to participate in the financial and operating decisions of the associate.
Investments in associates are initially recognised at the transaction price (including transaction costs) and are subsequently adjusted to reflect the group’s share of the profit or loss, other comprehensive income and equity of the associate using the equity method. Any difference between the cost of acquisition and the share of the fair value of the net identifiable assets of the associate on acquisition is recognised as goodwill. Any unamortised balance of goodwill is included in the carrying value of the investment in associates.
Losses in excess of the carrying amount of an investment in an associate are recorded as a provision only when the company has incurred legal or constructive obligations or has made payments on behalf of the associate.
In the parent company financial statements, investments in associates are accounted for at cost less impairment.
Entities in which the group has a long term interest and shares control under a contractual arrangement are classified as jointly controlled entities.
At each reporting period end date, the group reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any). Where it is not possible to estimate the recoverable amount of an individual asset, the company estimates the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit to which the asset belongs.
The carrying amount of the investments accounted for using the equity method is tested for impairment as a single asset. Any goodwill included in the carrying amount of the investment is not tested separately for impairment.
Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use. In assessing value in use, the estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value using a pre-tax discount rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset for which the estimates of future cash flows have not been adjusted.
If the recoverable amount of an asset (or cash-generating unit) is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset (or cash-generating unit) is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised immediately in profit or loss, unless the relevant asset is carried at a revalued amount, in which case the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation decrease.
Recognised impairment losses are reversed if, and only if, the reasons for the impairment loss have ceased to apply. Where an impairment loss subsequently reverses, the carrying amount of the asset (or cash-generating unit) is increased to the revised estimate of its recoverable amount, but so that the increased carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined had no impairment loss been recognised for the asset (or cash-generating unit) in prior years. A reversal of an impairment loss is recognised immediately in profit or loss, unless the relevant asset is carried at a revalued amount, in which case the reversal of the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation increase.
The group has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the group's balance sheet when the group becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset and the net amounts presented in the financial statements when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the group after deducting all of its liabilities.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors, bank loans, loans from fellow group companies and preference shares that are classified as debt, are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Equity instruments issued by the group are recorded at the proceeds received, net of transaction costs. Dividends payable on equity instruments are recognised as liabilities once they are no longer at the discretion of the group.
The tax expense represents the sum of the tax currently payable and deferred tax.
The tax currently payable is based on taxable profit for the year. Taxable profit differs from net profit as reported in the profit and loss account because it excludes items of income or expense that are taxable or deductible in other years and it further excludes items that are never taxable or deductible. The group’s liability for current tax is calculated using tax rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the reporting end date.
Deferred tax liabilities are generally recognised for all timing differences and deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable that they will be recovered against the reversal of deferred tax liabilities or other future taxable profits. Such assets and liabilities are not recognised if the timing difference arises from goodwill or from the initial recognition of other assets and liabilities in a transaction that affects neither the tax profit nor the accounting profit.
The carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each reporting end date and reduced to the extent that it is no longer probable that sufficient taxable profits will be available to allow all or part of the asset to be recovered. Deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the period when the liability is settled or the asset is realised. Deferred tax is charged or credited in the profit and loss account, except when it relates to items charged or credited directly to equity, in which case the deferred tax is also dealt with in equity. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset if, and only if, there is a legally enforceable right to offset current tax assets and liabilities and the deferred tax assets and liabilities relate to taxes levied by the same tax authority.
The costs of short-term employee benefits are recognised as a liability and an expense, unless those costs are required to be recognised as part of the cost of stock or fixed assets.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the company is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
Rentals payable under operating leases, including any lease incentives received, are charged to profit or loss on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease except where another more systematic basis is more representative of the time pattern in which economic benefits from the leased asset are consumed.
Transactions in currencies other than pounds sterling are recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing at the dates of the transactions. At each reporting end date, monetary assets and liabilities that are denominated in foreign currencies are retranslated at the rates prevailing on the reporting end date. Gains and losses arising on translation in the period are included in profit or loss.
In the application of the group’s accounting policies, the directors are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
The following judgements (apart from those involving estimates) have had the most significant effect on amounts recognised in the financial statements.
Work in progress, representing costs incurred for future student development projects, is held at the lower of cost and net realisable value. The Board has made the judgement that costs are expected to be recovered in full, most likely through a development funding agreement.
The average monthly number of persons (including directors) employed by the group and company during the year was:
Their aggregate remuneration comprised:
Employee numbers above include staff contracted to customer sites where costs are recharged in full. The number of employees representing a cost to the group was 28 (2023: 28).
The actual charge for the year can be reconciled to the expected credit for the year based on the profit or loss and the standard rate of tax as follows:
The group has unused tax losses of £1,869,489 carried forward for which no deferred tax asset has been recognised.
Details of the company's subsidiaries at 31 August 2024 are as follows:
Registered office addresses (all UK unless otherwise indicated):
Loans are due from VH (Leicester) Limited, which was a company under common control until June 2022.The loan is conditional on the debt financing of a student investment asset and is expected to be repaid by December 2025.
A defined contribution pension scheme is operated for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the group in an independently administered fund.
The group has entered into conditional purchase agreements for development land totalling £3.9m (2023: £17.2m) which are subject to planning consent being granted.
During the year the group entered into the following transactions with related parties:
The following amounts were outstanding at the reporting end date:
The following amounts were outstanding at the reporting end date:
Transactions within the Host Student Housing Limited group are not disclosed and the transactions above relate to entities controlled by the shareholders of Host Student Housing Limited.
Services provided to related parties are primarily management charges to Victoria Hall Management Ltd and Tiger Developments Ltd totalling £540,000 (2023: £540,000). Other services provided are operational fees of £23,555 (2023: £14,112) at open market value and on similar terms to other customers. Services received from related parties are management charges of £240,000 (2023: £240,000) to Tiger Developments Ltd.