Liberty Living, a student housing platform owned by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), is extending its business beyond the UK by buying assets from Blackstone.
The company said it paid £460m (€540m) for 13 student residences in 12 cities in the UK, Germany and Spain.
The portfolio of 6,484 beds, part of the Union State student accommodation franchise, takes the Liberty Living platform into continental Europe for the first time.
The transaction will be funded by CPPIB, which bought the student housing platform in 2015 for £1.1bn. It was the first time the Canadian pension fund had bought an entire property company, although it had begun to buy stakes in individual firms.
The Union State assets will be rebranded and incorporated into Liberty Living, which currently owns and operates more than 19,000 beds in the UK.
David Shearer, executive chairman of Liberty Living, said: “The acquisition of these residences is the latest step in Liberty Living’s strategy to grow through the acquisition of high-quality, developed assets that complement our existing portfolio.
“The opportunity to acquire these residences is a coherent further step in growing our branded, service-driven business, allowing us to strengthen our position in key markets.”
