The year is well underway, with multiple refurbishment and redevelopment schemes progressing simultaneously across several UK locations.
Alongside projects currently live on site, our team is also developing a number of new schemes in the office – with further updates to follow shortly.
Client: Homes for Students
A full refurbishment and fit-out of reception and amenity spaces, including a redesigned arrival experience, games rooms, lounge areas, co-working and study spaces. The scheme also includes FF&E supply and installation, electrical upgrades and internal reconfiguration works.
Client: Homes for Students
A 90-bed refurbishment programme incorporating comprehensive internal upgrades alongside external amenity works, delivering a significant enhancement to both accommodation and shared environments.
Client: Homes for Students
A comprehensive transformation of existing amenity areas including strip-out works, creation of new private dining space, cinema room, additional study rooms, external decking and bespoke joinery features.
Delivered in collaboration with JT Ellis
Supply and installation of bespoke joinery and FF&E to reception, common room, cinema and courtyard areas, forming part of a wider internal enhancement scheme.
Client: Abodus
Recently completed refurbishment programme delivered within a live operational environment.
Client: Aparto
Refurbishment of social and communal spaces including new games and cinema areas, dedicated study room creation and full design, project management and fit-out delivery.
Client: Homes for Students
A full internal reconfiguration and refurbishment scheme at Newarke Point, Leicester PBSA development, transforming the existing layout to deliver high-quality, contemporary spaces aligned with the client’s approach to premium student living.
The project will enhance how residents study, live and socialise, with a strong focus on functionality, comfort and overall wellbeing.
Works are scheduled to commence in the coming weeks, with further updates to follow as the programme progresses.
If you’re planning a refurbishment, redevelopment or new build scheme and would like to explore how we can support your project, we’d be happy to have a chat.
Inspired Projects works in partnership with operators, asset managers and developers to deliver high-quality build and refurbishment schemes that enhance both performance and long-term asset value.
From internal reconfiguration and amenity upgrades through to full-scale construction projects, we bring the experience and delivery capability to execute with confidence.
Get in touch to discuss your upcoming development.
It’s no longer unusual to see students choosing Build to Rent (BTR) over traditional PBSA and that shift is sending a clear message to the sector.
Postgraduates and mature students, in particular, are prioritising space, autonomy, and flexibility over price alone. They want living environments that support how they actually live day to day: calm, functional, and adaptable. Increasingly, student accommodation is expected to feel like a home – not simply a bed for the academic year.
Students aren’t just looking for a place to sleep – they’re looking for a place to live, work, and soclialise.
For PBSA operators, this represents both a challenge and a significant opportunity.
Traditional student amenity strategies – large lounges, event-led spaces, and centralised social hubs were designed to create buzz and energy. In reality, many of these spaces peak briefly during programmed events and remain underused for much of the year.
BTR schemes, by contrast, attract a broader resident base by offering shared spaces that are functional, flexible, and genuinely usable day and night. This raises a critical question for PBSA operators:
Does our amenity strategy truly support retention, occupancy, and long-term income stability?
The long-held assumption has been that first-year students want constant social interaction and highly programmed environments. While community and connection still matter, today’s students increasingly value choice and control over how they use shared spaces.
Quiet study areas, work-friendly environments, and flexible communal zones are no longer “nice to have” – they’re expected.
BTR resonates because its shared spaces are multi-purpose, accessible, and practical. Students are treating their accommodation as a personal living environment, not just a social venue. This behavioural shift is one PBSA operators can no longer afford to ignore.
Single-purpose amenity spaces often correlate with higher churn, and churn comes at a cost. Each re-let can cost £250–£450 per bed, before accounting for voids or lost rent.
BTR mitigates this risk by distributing smaller, multi-functional spaces throughout a building. These areas support everyday activities – studying, working, socialising, and relaxing – and remain valuable even at lower occupancy levels.
The result?
Lower churn, longer stays, and more predictable cash flow.
While older PBSA buildings can’t be redesigned from scratch, experienced specialists like Inspired Projects can rework layouts, subdivide space, and redesign underperforming areas to deliver outcomes that stand up to, and outperform new-build PBSA and BTR schemes.
Amenity space is no longer about visual impact alone. It has become a strategic lever for operational performance and financial resilience.
BTR is quietly attracting students through thoughtful lifestyle-led design. PBSA schemes that fail to evolve risk higher turnover, greater reliance on discounting, and more volatile income streams.
Forward-thinking operators are already adapting – breaking down oversized lounges into usable zones, creating quieter and work-oriented areas, and designing spaces that function every day, not just during peak social hours.
These changes deliver tangible results: improved retention, stronger occupancy, and enhanced valuation and refinancing outcomes.
Amenity is no longer a marketing feature – it’s a strategic asset.
For over 20 years, Inspired Projects and Ametros have worked at the intersection of design, delivery, and commercial performance across PBSA and Build to Rent schemes.
We specialise in transforming outdated student accommodation into spaces that can compete directly with new-build PBSA and BTR developments – without unnecessary overspend. Many of our clients return to us time and again because we understand what truly drives value: resident experience, operational efficiency, and long-term income.
As a trusted delivery partner, we work closely with clients to balance design ambition with budget, programme, and commercial outcomes. Every project is approached with a clear focus on how the space will perform – not just how it will look.
Whether it’s rethinking amenity layouts, upgrading interiors, or repositioning an existing asset to meet modern expectations, our goal is simple:
to help PBSA and BTR schemes stand out, retain residents, and maximise returns.
You can explore examples of our work and see how we’ve helped clients future-proof their properties in an increasingly competitive market.
If you’d like more information on how Inspired Projects can help transform your student accommodation or PBSA scheme, please use the contact form to get in touch with our team.
Inspired Projects is a Manchester based design, development and fit-out company delivering refurbishment and redevelopment projects across student accommodation, build to rent, hospitality and leisure, and commercial workspaces.
We have over 20 years’ experience working with student accommodation providers, operators and asset managers across the UK and Ireland. Over time, our work has expanded into build to rent, hotels, bars and restaurants, affordable living, offices and wider commercial environments, with many clients returning to us across multiple projects and schemes.
Inspired Projects delivers high-quality redevelopment and refurbishment projects, from full building schemes through to phased refurbishments and targeted upgrade works. We support clients with both the repositioning of existing assets and the delivery of new developments, always taking a practical, design-led approach.
A significant part of our work sits within PBSA (Purpose-Built Student Accommodation) and the wider student accommodation sector. We work directly with student accommodation providers across the UK and Ireland, many of whom come to us to upgrade existing schemes.
This often includes refurbishing amenity spaces, improving bedrooms, and creating more premium, contemporary environments that allow existing buildings to compete with newer student accommodation developments entering the market. These projects are typically driven by changing expectations from students and the need for schemes to remain commercially competitive over time.
Alongside refurbishment and upgrade projects, Inspired Projects also delivers new student accommodation schemes, working with clients from early-stage development through to completion.
Our experience in student accommodation spans more than two decades and is strengthened further through our sister businesses, Ametros Facilities Management and The Student Shed. This broader experience gives us valuable operational insight, helping to inform design decisions and delivery approaches that work not just at handover, but long after a project is complete.
Beyond student accommodation, we deliver projects within build to rent, working across apartments and shared resident spaces, as well as hospitality and leisure, including hotels, bars and restaurants where quality, presentation and consistency are key. We also work across affordable living, workspaces and wider commercial environments, applying the same considered approach regardless of sector.
Every project we undertake is treated as a unique opportunity. From the initial brief, we take the time to understand the project objectives, constraints and commercial drivers before shaping the delivery approach.
Our in-house, multidisciplinary team of designers, surveyors and project managers delivers projects from concept through to completion. By managing each stage from feasibility and design through to fit-out and handover – we provide a clear, structured process that supports consistently high standards and commercially successful outcomes.
Where required, we work alongside a trusted extended team of specialist consultants, allowing us to deliver a fully integrated service tailored to the needs of each project.
Inspired Projects works with student accommodation providers, developers, operators, asset managers and property owners across the UK and Ireland. Our clients value a straightforward, professional approach and the reassurance of working with a team that understands both delivery and long-term building performance.
If you are a client, developer or operator looking to work with Inspired Projects on an upcoming project, we would be happy to hear from you.
To discuss a project or future opportunity, please visit our contact page and complete the enquiry form.
We are always happy to hear from experienced subcontractors and trade partners interested in working with Inspired Projects. If you would like to be considered for upcoming projects, please get in touch via the contact form with a brief overview of your trade, where you are based, and the areas you cover. Our team will review your details and, where relevant, get back to you with the appropriate onboarding and compliance forms to complete.
We are proud to work with a wide range of clients and believe our strong relationships are an indication of the quality of the products and service we offer.
Here at Inspired Projects, we work to the highest of standards – as recognised by some of our key third-party organisations.
