We work with private investors

to convert run-down single-dwellings

into high-quality, studio-style co-living homes

for young professionals in central Sheffield, UK.

meet the team

laura-Jane
baxter

I’m Laura-Jane, the Director of Developments. I direct my team in developing Sheffield properties and manage capital investments.

I founded this business just before my final year of university after realising that I wanted to focus my early career on building a financial base and acquiring assets rather than taking a conventional graduate corporate route. I also wanted to help and inspire others to achieve their respective financial goals with their capital.

The strategy I now focus on, with the help of my hard-working team, is creating high-quality studio rooms in co-living houses for young professionals. Find out more about me here.

zelka
orriesga

I’m Zelka, the Project Development Coordinator at More Than Bricks, based in the Philippines.

I joined the business after meeting Laura-Jane in 2023 and later being drawn to the company’s focus on diligence, integrity, and doing things properly. The communication style here is very direct, respectful, and transparent. I appreciate that clarity is encouraged.

My background is in mining engineering and process-driven coordination work. I support the projects by coordinating processes with contractors, maintaining clear systems, and helping ensure developments run smoothly from planning through to delivery, onboarding and caring for tenants as the portfolio continues to scale.

what
we do

We work with private investors and our wider professional team to convert under-utilised single dwelling houses in central Sheffield into high-quality co-living homes, designed specifically for today’s young professional renters. Our schemes focus on well-designed communal areas alongside private studio rooms with en-suite bathrooms and kitchenettes.

why
we do it

how the market is changing

The residential market has shifted significantly in recent years.

For many young people, home ownership has become increasingly unaffordable, with rising house prices and deposit requirements putting buying out of reach.

At the same time, home ownership has also become less practical: growing career mobility in the 20s and 30s means young professionals are relocating between cities every few years, making long-term ownership inconvenient.

As a result, demand for flexible, high-quality rentals by the room has increased materially.

Since the pandemic, remote and hybrid working has also changed what we’ve seen in how people want to live. Demand has grown strongly for self-contained or near-self-contained ‘studio’ style rooms – with kitchenettes and en-suites – are now highly desired in a way they weren’t before.

Tenants like that this kind of living allows privacy and comfort, while still offering the affordability benefits of shared spaces. This has driven increased demand for studio-led co-living in urban locations.

finding
a smarter way

As a team, we help to meet this housing need not by ‘building more homes’ – as the government promises and consistently fails to do – but rather by capitalising on the existing housing stock, unlocking value through intelligent reconfiguration of internal space to meet these modern living requirements.

See below some of the historic projects focussing on serviced accommodation, as well as current development projects focussed on high-end co-living.

Stadium View:
Serviced apartment

Completed October 2023

Charlotte House:
Serviced Apartment

Completed February 2023

West Street:
Serviced Apartment

Completed April 2024

Westmoreland:
Co-Living HMO Conversion

Currently underway (2025-26)

Park Village:
Co-Living HMO Refurbishment

Completed November 2025

The total portfolio managed or acquired to date is worth around £1 million.

The typical acquisition where the underlying asset is purchased by More Than Bricks is doubled in value by our development team, typically from £150,000 – £200,000 to £300,000 to £400,000 as the (RICS reported commercial GDV).

Find out more about our projects and what we have achieved for clients here.

meet the team

laura-Jane baxter

zelka orriesga

what we do

why we do it

how the market is changing

finding a smarter way

Stadium View:Serviced apartment

Charlotte House:Serviced Apartment

West Street:Serviced Apartment

Westmoreland:Co-Living HMO Conversion

Park Village:Co-Living HMO Refurbishment

Find out more

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