Opal Property Group Limited, often referred to as Opal, was a company based in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

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 A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

in the UK, providing accommodation for 20,000 students. The company went into administration in 2013 and its properties were transferred to other organisations.

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. The parent company Opal may be broken up if

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

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. 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 Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

- Opal 1 in Highgate *

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

**Opal 1 **Opal 2 ** Opal Tower (Opal 3) *

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

- halls of residence including Opal Court, which was nominated for the 2007

Carbuncle Cup The Carbuncle Cup was an architecture prize, given annually by the magazine ''Building Design'' to "the ugliest building in the United Kingdom completed in the last 12 months". It was intended to be a humorous response to the prestigious Stirling ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

**Opal 1 in Hoxton (

University of the Arts London University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea Coll ...

) **Opal 2 in Greenwich **Opal 3 in Holloway **Opal 4 in Tufnell Park *

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

- accommodation blocks around Whitworth Street *

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

- halls of residence with common room and gymnasium * Newport - Opal 1 *

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

**Opal 1 near the Devonshire Quarter **Opal 2 in Netherthorpe (now called "Allen Court" and run by

Greystar Real Estate Partners Greystar Real Estate Partners is an international real estate developer and manager based in the United States. As of April 2019, Greystar had $32 billion in gross assets under management, and operated in nine countries in 2022. Greystar was t ...

) **Opal 3, also in Netherthorpe

References

Property companies of the United Kingdom {{UK-company-stub