Student Co-op Homes (SCH) – the national body set up to grow the student co-op housing market – has received a boost to its community share offer with a £100,000 investment from the Heart of England Co-op.
The announcement comes as SCH urges more people and organisations to invest in its share offer before it closes on the extended deadline of Tuesday 4 February. It was launched last October to raise capital so that SCH can buy property to lease to student housing co-ops in Brighton, Nottingham and Glasgow.
“Today, students in higher education face increasing pressure, debt and mental health challenges,” said Student Co-op Homes director Vivian Woodell. “Student housing co-ops are a solution that can break the cycle of high-cost, poor-quality private rents that drive up debt and exacerbate poor health.”
Housing co-ops are affordable not-for-profit homes that students manage and maintain. SCH points out there are no landlords and everyone works together for mutual benefit.
“We’d like to thank Heart of England for this substantial investment,” added Mr Woodell. “It’s a huge boost to our share offer, which has raised over a quarter of a million pounds so far. It’s a significant sum that lays a solid foundation for our ambition to create a thriving student housing co-op sector.
“With just a few days left of the share offer, we’d like to see even more investment so we can buy more property to give more students access to quality, affordable homes.
“If you haven’t already, please invest and help us create sustainable, ethical housing that supports the younger generation in gaining co-operative values, important life skills, better health and a better start to their working lives.”
A spokesperson for the Heart of England Co-op said: “We are proud to be supporting the valuable work of Student Co-op Homes with our £100,000 investment in their community share offer.
“It’s not only an investment in a ground-breaking co-operative venture – it’s also an investment in future generations. Student housing co-ops provide the conditions to nurture resilient, healthy graduates who can enter the workforce and shape society in the spirit of co-operation.”
The SCH community share offer ends at 11.59pm on Tuesday 4 February. To invest, go to www.ethex.org.uk/sch. For more information, see studenthomes.coop. Follow the campaign on Twitter and Facebook @NoMoreLandlords.
