Ardian and Rockfield’s new European student housing investment venture has acquired a building in Italy from CDS Holding as its first asset.
The €800m student housing platform has invested an unspecified amount to acquire the fully-let newly constructed 404-bed building located in the Novoli district of Florence.
The Ardian and Rockfield venture was set up to acquire core-plus, purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) in high-demand European markets such as Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Germany and France.
Matteo Minardi, head of real estate in Italy and managing director at Ardian, said: “We are proud that the first acquisition of our pan-European PBSA strategy was completed in Italy, in Florence. Italy is one of the countries where we will concentrate most of our investments, and Florence, with its dynamism and significant number of students combined with a strong shortage of quality accommodations, is a destination offering attractive investment opportunities.
“The property perfectly aligns with our investment target, meeting international standards in terms of quality, common areas and sustainability.”
Juan Acosta, partner and CIO at Rockfield, said: “The acquisition of a fully-let asset in a highly sought-after and under-supplied market like Florence presented the perfect opportunity for us to start building our PBSA platform across Italy and Europe.
“The acquisition reflects our strong conviction in the PBSA market in Italy and our confidence in the long-term demand fundamentals for Florence, which continues to be characterised by a restricted development pipeline. This will not be the last investment in Italy and we are planning to be a leading reference when it comes to high-quality student accommodation in that market.”
Last month, CBRE Investment Management, through its indirect private real estate strategies on behalf of global institutional investors, committed an initial €500m as a founding investor in the student-housing venture.
Rodolfo Petrosino, head of southeastern Europe real estate at Ardian, said: “This new pan-European strategy on PBSA will focus on Italy and Spain, which are among the most interesting markets with a growing demand for student housing but the lowest provision rate in Europe.
“This platform will further strengthen our presence in these countries, which remain key targets for Ardian Real Estate’s growth in Europe.”
To read the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.
