Student Property Investment in Cardiff

Cardiff is the largest and capital city of Wales, situated on the country’s southern coast. Traditionally the city achieved fame and fortune through being a port and shipping hub for Wales, exploiting its position on the Bristol Channel. The famous Cardiff docks were designed and built by John Crichton-Stuart, deemed “the creator of modern Cardiff” – an act which transformed Cardiff from a town into a bustling and wealthy city. 

Cardiff has been influential in many British decisions throughout the years, particularly through its Coal Exchanges which determined the standard price for British coal and also was the seat of the first million-pound deal for the fossil fuel. The renovation of Cardiff Bay countered the economic troubles of the 1980s and modern day Cardiff is a cosmopolitan city with a powerful economic influence throughout Wales and wider Britain.

Cardiff sits on the coast of the Bristol Channel, in the south of Wales between Newport and Barry. The city’s natural bay was influential in the establishment of the city and its trade – it continues to see some shipping traffic but has also been redeveloped into a tourist attraction. Cardiff’s proximity to Bristol has been an important cog for many years - with the two cities separating by almost 100 miles of land travel, 50 miles of travel using the Severn Bridge but less than 20 miles from coast to coast across the Bristol Channel. Cardiff can be reached in around 2 hours from London and Birmingham, with the M50 and M4 motorway networks connecting the city to wider British destinations. Cardiff Airport is responsible for more than a million passengers every year, though the city relies on the larger Bristol Airport which is six times larger and only an hour’s drive away.

A recent report from Savills stated that there are now just over 42,000 full time students studying in Cardiff, the vast majority of whom attend either the University of Cardiff or Cardiff Metropolitan University. With only 8,300 purpose built student beds in the city, there is understandably a significant demand for student property in Cardiff and the surrounding areas, which has resulted in an increase of student rental fees of between 3-4% throughout the city last year.

Cardiff is famous for being one of Europe’s youngest capital cities, but also maintains an historic culture throughout the contemporary streets. The city has a very distinctive old town and new town, not unlike the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, with Cardiff castle right in the centre of the city. Cardiff is also home to outstanding modern architecture including the National Assembly of Wales and the Millennium Stadium.