Our Story

Atha Students serves as the student accommodation management branch for Atha Developments, a property developing company started by Jack and Tom in 2011. Our journey has been a blend of remarkable success, daunting learning curves, and amusing tales of mishaps. From laborers on a construction site living in a caravan to renovating houses with guidance from DIY manuals, our trajectory to where we stand today has been quite the adventure. Beginning with our initial projects, renovating modest residential properties in Middlesbrough for approximately £70,000 in 2011, reminiscent of shows like "Homes Under the Hammer," we've consistently sought to expand into new and diverse sectors of property development. If someone had told Jack and Tom back in 2011 that Atha Developments would boast the largest student accommodation portfolio in Teesside, alongside a mix of thriving commercial and residential developments, with a combined portfolio value of £14,000,000, they would have dismissed it outright, likely with a chuckle from their caravan. However, thanks to incredible support from family, friends, investors, and the community, Atha Developments journey has gone from strength to strength. Exciting projects are on the horizon with lots too be excited about in the coming years with a pipeline of projects with a Gross Development Value (GDV) exceeding £25,000,000. There is much to anticipate. Please enjoy this brief preview of our journey thus far.

2022

In September 2022 we completed our most recent Student Accommodation development called Dorman House. The development comprises of 55 Studio apartments complete with a private cinema, study pods and a stunning residents lounge. The development has been a great success seeing 100% occupancy full of happy student tenants. The full development cost £3,900,000 in total and took 16 months too complete. We are very proud of this project, and we are so pleased the student residents love it.

2021

Early in 2019 we bought a 3-story office block in South Shields in desperate need for renovation for £160,000 with the plans to convert the top two floors into a business centre complete with 8 self-contained offices, kitchen and communal areas. We kept the existing 2 commercial units as they were on the Gf. Construction started in early 2020 and completed at the end of 2021. The project cost £150,000 bringing a total project cost of £310,000. The building is full occupied and generates a yearly rental income of £45,000. This was a very challenging project right in the middle of the Covid pandemic, however we are proud of the result. It has been a successful first project in the commercial rental market.

2018

Entering the big leagues. We started our biggest project to date called “St James Studios” in Middlesbrough. This is a 60 x Studio apartment student development in the centre of Middlesbrough only 500 meters from the university, with commercial units on the ground floor. We bought an old office block for £1,300,000 and renovated it into high end luxury student apartments complete with cinema rooms and huge communal spaces. The construction cost was £2,500,000 with around £250,000 on professional fees, Creating a total project cost of around £4,050,000. The project only took 36 weeks from start to finish thanks to a great design team and Walter Thompson construction company. St James Studios brings in a great rental income from both the students and the commercial units. St James Studios has been a huge success for Atha Students and again has a 100% occupancy level with large waiting lists since its construction.

2016

We started construction on our first buy to sell project in December 2016. We built two bespoke new build properties in Middleton St George just outside Darlington. We bought the land for £220,000 and the construction cost of the 2 x five bedroom properties was £540,000. The project on the whole was an exciting project full of challenges and learning experiences. Over the course of the project we ran little bit over time and as a result a little bit over our initial budget. Total project cost was around £8500,000. We have sold one of the houses for £450,000 in 2019, and we are currently renting the other property out for £2100 per month with a look to selling it when the property market is in a stronger position.

2014

Due the to the success of Bolckow House we decided to build Phase 2 within the old car park and grounds of Bolckow house. We built our first build development called Vaughan House. This is an 18 bedroom block split between 3 apartments, all with large en-suite rooms. The total construction cost for that project was around £500,000 and again has been rented out at 100% occupancy ever since construction.

2013

Due to the success in the student market with our first 2 houses we started our first larger Student project called Bolckow House. We bought a property for £350,000 and renovated it into 15 Large double en-suite bedrooms split between 3 apartments. Construction cost was around £280,000 so total investment was £630,000. The property has been rented out at 100% occupancy every year bringing in a healthy income and creating a lovely student living environment.

2012

2012 was when Atha Students decided to target the student market in Middlesbrough. We bought and renovated our first 2 student houses near to the university. They have been a great success and rented out between 90-100% occupancy ever since up to this day.

2011

In 2011 our property developing began “Homes under the Hammer style”. We borrowed some family money and bought our first town house from a family friend in Middlesbrough for £70,000 and the steep learning curve began. We renovated the house in 6 months and spent around £25,000 doing so. The house rented out very easily creating a good investment yield. First house…. Tick. Towards the end of 2011 we bought two more town houses in the same area, we renovated these houses and they have been successfully rented out ever since.

2010

2010 started with Jack at Tom moving back home from dropping out of university. With not many options we got a job as labourers with some family friends learning the basics of the building trade by renovating some farm buildings into holiday cottages. During this year of labouring we learnt lots of basic skills that we felt we could use to start our own property developing business.