My understanding is that the BTR sector encompasses both PBSA (which will be 100% students) and 'living sector' which will be mainly young professionals (but could include students as they're not barred). It's the lower spec PBSA I'd be worried about as it's not suitable as other permanent housing.
Some of the higher spec student housing would probably convert ok to the 'co-living' sector - small studio flatlets let to young professionals. But I suspect the student housing that's most likely to be hard to let will be the tiny bedrooms that don't work as permanent housing for any other group.
Of their total take. So if you pay £1 for a loaf of bread, 2.4p is profit, and the rest goes on payment to the farmer, staff wages, etc.
Supermarkets make around 2.4% profit - so that's not much of a pay rise for the staff (especially if you're also trying to squeeze out of it a pay increase for the farmers). And if a company cuts its profits right down the wire, it risks going bust if there's an unexpected cost or loss of income.
Probably, yes. There's competition between supermarkets to bring costs down (therefore increasing market share and profit) where possible.
Some has to go to the underpaid farmers too mind....
Presumably that has knock on beneficial impacts on poor people elsewhere in the world as food becomes slightly cheaper for them?
With demographic change, concerns about the value of going to university and tighter rules for foreign students, I suspect we'll see more of these applications to convert student housing to other uses.
Yes, I assume so. But that doesn't give a government any ability to switch the rates on and off to try to get the housing market out a slump, or cool it when it's overheating.
Potentially, yes. Though that's an expensive and permanent change.