Greystar has entered the Spanish student accommodation market with the acquisition of 37 properties in a joint venture with AXA Investment Management – Real Assets. The purchasers are understood to have paid in the region of €425m (£375m).
The assets are owned by Spain’s leading student accommodation provider, Resa. The transaction also marks AXA IM Real Assets’ entry into the European student accommodation sector. It is also working with a Dutch institutional investor which is working on behalf of clients.
AXA IM – Real Assets, on behalf of its clients, and the Dutch institutional investor have acquired equal sized shares representing the substantial majority holding in the portfolio, while Greystar, which has also purchased the Resa operating business and will act as property, development and asset manager for the portfolio, has bought the remaining balance.
The Resa portfolio comprises 9,309 student beds across 33 operational assets and four development projects located in 19 Spanish cities, making this the largest ever student housing acquisition on the Iberian peninsula.
The Resa portfolio currently represents approximately 10% of Spain’s total purpose-built student housing provision. In what is a significantly undersupplied market in one of Europe’s fastest growing economies, AXA IM – Real Assets and its partners intend to grow the Spanish student accommodation portfolio by investing in further facilities and developments.
Laurent Lavergne, head of separate accounts at AXA IM – Real Assets said: “This transaction provides us with a rare opportunity to acquire, on behalf of our clients, a large scale and extremely high quality portfolio of student accommodation, which is also managed by Spain’s leading halls of residence operator, Resa. It also marks a number of significant firsts for us, being our first investment into this asset class in Europe and our first joint venture with our two JV partners.”
Steven Zeeman, managing director, investment management, Netherlands, Greystar: “We have identified Spain as a territory with significant potential – the country is presently one of Europe’s fastest growing economies and there is now a serious shortage of purpose-built rental accommodation suitable for students and young professionals in the larger cities. As the global provider of this type of housing, we are naturally very excited about the opportunities our venture with AXA IM – Real Assets and the Dutch institutional investor, in combination with the Resa platform, has the potential to create.”
CBRE acted on behalf of the vendor.
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