A newly-renovated terraced house, fully furnished and well-equipped, with excellent facilities including new gas central heating and 34mb fibre-optic broadband internet.
The house is in a quiet street, 100m from University of Cumbria Lancaster campus. It is 2.6 miles (4km) – less than 10 minutes’ drive - from Lancaster University; and within 100m of bus routes to the University on Bowerham Road. The City Centre is 10 minutes’ walk.
The house would suit undergraduates and postgraduates, in a group of THREE. It is also suitable for University staff and/or a small family.
The rent includes unlimited-use fibre-optic broadband internet, gas, electricity, water, TV licence and weekly cleaning.
Will was born and brought up in London. He attended Lancaster University from 1974 to 1977 (Fylde College). The University was smaller, newer and very different then from how it is now. The off-campus student accommodation back then was truly dreadful – and he soon saw a business opportunity in high-quality student lettings.
Will originally became a Lancaster landlord in 1979. However, career pressures meant that he and his initial business partner had to cease their rentals business during the 1980s, even though the enterprise itself was successful. 15 years later he returned, when a friend (who is now his co-director) won a place in Lancaster herself and complained that she had nowhere to live!
After graduating in 1977 (Fylde, BA (2.1), Economics and Financial Control), Will qualified as a Chartered Accountant, with one of the leading London firms, in 1980. He then made his career in the banking and securities industries in the City. He established his own consulting firm, Eximus Capital, in 1990 and runs the properties, in part, from Eximus Capital’s London office.
Will is a past President of the London Society of Chartered Accountants. He serves as a member of Council, the supreme governing body for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). He is also a member of the ICAEW Board.
His business interests include being a director of a diving and watersports store in London; and he has recently been a trustee of a multi academy trust (7 schools).
For the past 15 years, Will has been an active supporter of Lancaster University. He has served as a member of Court, one of the University’s governing bodies; and keeps in touch with University affairs. Well over half of Will’s London employees so far have been Lancaster graduates.
He is a member of the Dean’s Council at Lancaster University Management School.
Will is a member of the National Landlords Association, one of the professional bodies in the lettings industry. In Lancaster, he serves on the steering group for the Residential Property Accreditation Scheme for Lancaster City Council – an important contribution to housing standards.
Will still runs his consultancy firm, but his success in Lancaster means that he now devotes rather more of his time to his lettings business than he had ever planned. He now maintains a permanent home in the area, as there is plenty to do!
Will does this work not just to earn part of his living, but also because he enjoys it. He believes strongly that, for students, good housing is a fundamental factor in promoting good academic performance.
As Will says, a good house on its own will not get you a good degree – you still have to work, unfortunately – but bad housing can make your studies much more difficult. A good place to live is well worth paying extra for.
WESTHAM STREET, PRIMROSE, LANCASTER LA1 3AU
