Investment firm Ardian and Rockfield Real Estate’s European student housing investment venture has added a 596-bed student building in the Netherlands to its portfolio.
The pair have acquired the Minervahaven building in Amsterdam’s Houthavens district from the Rinkelberg Capital family office.
IPE Real Assets understands that the partnership paid around €120m for the purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA).
Student Experience has managed the 26,060sqm Minervahaven building since 2020 and will continue to operate the property.
The latest transaction is the fourth investment for the CBRE Investment Management-backed Ardian and Rockfield partnership, following earlier investments in Florence, Bologna and Barcelona. This brings the total gross asset value deployed, for the strategy created in October last year, to over €300m.
Ardian and Rockfield expect to raise an additional €300m for their core-plus joint venture in the second half of 2025, with a target of reaching a total of €1bn for the strategy by the end of the year.
Bernd Haggenmüller, senior real estate managing director at Ardian, said: ”This acquisition underlines our clear ambition to significantly expand Ardian’s presence in the PBSA sector across Northern Europe. With a particular focus on the Netherlands and the high potential German market, we see a tremendous opportunity to grow our portfolio with sustainable, high-quality assets that meet the evolving needs of students and cities alike.
“Leveraging our long-term capital and operational expertise as well as a significant project pipeline, we are committed to becoming a key player in shaping the future of student living in the dynamic European market.”
Wouter van den Eijnden, Rockfield CEO, said: ”Minervahaven is the ‘jewel in the crown’ of our strategy. The property’s strong sustainability credentials and the high quality of the living space exemplify the type of asset we are looking for to make this evergreen platform the leading one across Europe, as well as being a testament to the development and asset management skills of Student Experience.
“The strong demand for student housing in the Netherlands, which is not close to being met by sufficient supply, can be seen by the speed at which all the rooms at Minervahaven were rented out – within two days of becoming available online at the start of the 2024/25 academic year.”
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