CA Ventures and Harrison Street launch UK student housing joint venture

Harrison Street and CA Ventures have formed a joint venture to develop and acquire purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) assets across the UK.

The two real estate investment companies, which both focus on alternative property sectors, have begun with four developments in London, Edinburgh, Leicester and Beflast.

The four assets span 935 beds and include fitness centres, cinema rooms, outdoor courtyards, game rooms and study lounges.

They will be managed by CA Ventures’ in-house PBSA operating platform Novel Student.

Last year, CA Ventures committed to investing £500m in PBSA in the UK and Ireland.

The JV also announced its first four PBSA development projects, totalling 935 total beds located in London, Edinburgh, Leicester and Belfast. Each property offers units with bed-bath parity and top of the line amenities including fitness centres, cinema rooms, outdoor courtyards, game rooms and study lounges. All four assets will be managed by CA’s in-house PBSA operating platform, Novel Student.

“This JV is a testament to Harrison Street’s long-term conviction in the European student accommodation sector,” said Paul Bashir, CEO of Harrison Street’s European business.

“We are excited to expand our presence in top-tier university cities in the UK, with each having growing student populations in need of high-quality PBSA that cater to their wellbeing.

“CA is a strong partner, with whom Harrison Street has worked with for over a dozen years in the US, that boasts significant expertise operating student housing properties globally.

“We are excited to expand our partnership with them as we continue our approach of investing in strong PBSA assets in attractive UK university markets.”

Carlo Matta, head of Europe at CA Ventures, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Harrison Street, a long-time trusted investment partner, to deliver these exciting new PBSA schemes.

“Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the student accommodation sector has continued to demonstrate its recession-resistant qualities and outperform other commercial real estate asset classes.

“Our JV with Harrison Street is a great example of the momentum we are currently experiencing in the student sector, globally. There is clear demand for the products and services that CA specialises in and we believe in the investment opportunity now more than ever.”