Opal Property Group

Opal Property Group

Industry	Property
Founded	1998 (1998)
Founder	Stuart Wall
Headquarters	Manchester , United Kingdom
Area served	United Kingdom
Key people	Stuart Wall (founder and owner); Joe Dwek, [1] Don Hanson, John K Berry (non-executive directors)
Revenue	£143m (Sep 2012)
Total assets	£1.069bn (Sep 2012)
Owner	Stuart Wall
Number of employees	550
Subsidiaries	Ocon Construction
Website	www.opalgroup.com

Opal 3 in Leeds, one of the company's student accommodation buildings

Opal Property Group Limited, often referred to as Opal, was a company based in the United Kingdom which operates a number of large property developments in UK cities, targeted at students and private renters. Founded in 1998 by Stuart Wall, Opal was the largest provider of private student accommodation in the UK, providing accommodation for 20,000 students. ^[2] The company went into administration in 2013 and its properties were transferred to other organisations. ^[3]

History

The company was founded in 1998.

2013

In March 2013, the company reported that one of its subsidiaries, Ocon Construction, was to be put into administration. ^[4] The parent company Opal may be broken up if loan extensions with the banks cannot be agreed.

13 further Opal property subsidiaries in Liverpool, Manchester, Bradford, Dundee, Huddersfield, Leeds, Leicester, London and Wolverhampton went into administration in March. ^[5]

As of April 2013, much of the various sub companies in the group were in the hands of administrators with various property management companies brought in to oversee the developments whilst buyers were sought.

Properties

Opal's properties include:

• Birmingham - Opal 1 in Highgate
• Leeds
  • Opal 1
  • Opal 2
  • Opal Tower (Opal 3)
• Leicester - halls of residence including Opal Court, which was nominated for the 2007 Carbuncle Cup
• London
  • Opal 1 in Hoxton (University of the Arts London)
  • Opal 2 in Greenwich
  • Opal 3 in Holloway
  • Opal 4 in Tufnell Park
• Manchester - ‘Wilmslow Park’ which was the UKs largest private student residence and other accommodation blocks around Whitworth Street
• Nottingham -
  • Sutton Bonington Halls (Now ran by Campus Living Villages)
  • Opal 2 (Now called Nottingham Two) halls of residence with common room and gymnasium ^[6]
• Newport - Opal 1
• Sheffield
  • Opal 1 near the Devonshire Quarter
  • Opal 2 in Netherthorpe (now called "Allen Court" and run by Greystar Real Estate Partners)
  • Opal 3, also in Netherthorpe

References

1. Manchester Evening News, http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/business-news/joe-dwek-to-step-down-from-worthington-893551
2. Qureshi, Huma (16 August 2008). "Student special: Accommodation". The Observer. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 21 June 2019.
3. "Student One - Premium Brisbane Student Accommodation". studentone.com. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
4. "Ocon administration due to 'operational issues'". Place North West. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
5. "Wave of Opal sites falls into administration". Place North West. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
6. "Opal Students". www.opalstudents.com. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2019.

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