On the surface, all might seem well in the UK purpose-built student accommodation universe. Rents across the sector were up almost 10% in the year to September 2023, benefiting from inflation and demand outstripping supply. But a look beneath the surface suggests there could be problems lurking: Students dropping out of courses has hit an all-time high, and financial hardship is a major cause. Teams tasked with helping students at cash-strapped universities are facing major staff cuts. And the process of finding housing for students remains opaque and hard to navigate. Against that backdrop of inefficiencies, pitfalls and potential, one 26-year old proptech founder has built a business that late last year completed the largest seed funding round in the history of the UK student sector. That business is now looking to expand its reach. 
“The university ecosystem is suffering,” Hybr founder and CEO Hannah Chappatte told Bisnow. “We’ve created a platform that helps students, landlords and universities in an area which is valuable to the UK economy but which has been inefficient and doesn’t put students and renters first.”Chappatte set up Hybr in 2019… Read the full story here. | 
