Transforming the planning process with a Student Accommodation Provider

The Situation

A leading student housing firm in the UK, grappling with the imbalance between supply and demand in the industry, sought a scalable solution to manage their growing portfolio.

The firm’s existing processes were hindered by slow, labour-intensive budgeting and long-term forecasting, relying heavily on Excel, which proved inadequate for scalability. The lack of a consolidated view of current and future performance further complicated decision-making.

Lionpoint proposed the implementation of Anaplan to revolutionize budgeting, forecasting, and scenario analysis. By integrating Anaplan with the existing Yardi and StarRez systems, they created a robust, cloud-based solution. Leveraging Anaplan’s CloudWorks, Lionpoint ensured seamless integration and data flow within the client’s technology ecosystem.

The Approach

Leveraging Lionpoint’s deep expertise in both Anaplan and the real estate industry

As part of the Anaplan implementation process, Lionpoint conducted workshops to gather requirements and define new functionalities, adopted an Agile approach for constant feedback and refinement, and developed bespoke models to fit the client’s specific business processes.

Throughout the project, Lionpoint’s robust change management strategy, including extensive training programs and ongoing support, ensured smooth transition and adoption of the new system.

The Impact

Transforming Student Housing Management

The integration of Yardi Voyager, StarRez, and Anaplan resulted in a cohesive, streamlined budgeting process, significantly reducing planning and budgeting cycles. This enabled rapid scalability to meet the increasing demand in the UK PBSA (Purpose-Built Student Accommodation) market.

Equally, the solution provided enhanced visibility and transparency across all levels of the planning process (from portfolio-wide analytics to room-level calculations).

Finally, advanced CapEx Modelling enabled instant what-if analysis for various development scenarios, enhancing decision-making for new projects.

Ultimately, the transformation empowered the client to make quicker, more informed decisions, increasing their ability to supply additional student housing units and address market disparities efficiently.