A former Christian adult school which closed due to a lack of students has been snapped up by property developers for £5.8 million.

The Franciscan International Study Centre in Canterbury has been bought by Empiric Student Property, which is building up a range of student accommodation in the city.

The new owner of the site on Giles Lane, which is near but not part of the University of Kent, will shortly advertise accommodation at its five townhouses – with 50 beds – through management firm Hello Student.

It said a separate 16,200 sq ft building on the three-acre site has “development potential”.

The deal is the second acquisition the company has made in the city, after it bought the 79-bed Pavillion Court apartment block above a Sainsbury’s store for £9.2 million in September.

The company is in discussions with Canterbury County Council about future planning permission for a student accommodation scheme of more than 325 beds on the study centre site.

It hopes to start work by the third quarter of next year.

The revamp will include a mix of studios, two and three-bed apartments and six-bed townhouses with a large common room, work and reading rooms, a gym and offices.

Empiric chief executive Paul Hadaway said: “Canterbury represents a prime opportunity for the group with a low level of private accommodation serving the student market.

“The property is ideally located to target students from the University of Kent, which is well regarded and has demonstrated strong growth over the past five years, including a 58% rise in postgraduate students and a 41% rise in international students.

“As well as generating revenue for the forthcoming academic year, the acquisition of the property should enable the group to develop a significant student accommodation scheme adjacent to this vibrant university and close to Pavilion Court, the group’s first Canterbury acquisition.”

The study centre revealed it was closing in March after its principal admitted it no longer had any students.

Father Thomas Reist said people opening Franciscan schools in their own countries had meant “over the years, the numbers travelling from abroad to us has continued to fall”.