Partners Group and DeA Capital Real Estate have set up a pan-European student accommodation partnership with Camplus.

The joint venture aiming to develop and operate purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) assets targetting over 5,000 beds has been launched and seeded with two initial projects.

The seed portfolio comprises the 448-bed Camplus Ivry scheme at Ivry-Sur-Seine in Paris and the 250-bed development site in the 22@ technology district in Barcelona.

The joint venture is actively developing a significant pipeline of additional projects, with the aim of establishing a leading PBSA platform in undersupplied markets across France and Spain, according to the parties involved.

The venture’s assets will be operated by Camplus, as part of the Italian student accommodation operator’s plan to expand beyond its home country into Spain and France.

The latest joint venture represents Partners Group’s first platform expansion into continental Europe PBSA following its partnership with Host in the UK.

In a joint statement, Alice Saini, a member of management private real estate Europe, and Anne-Jan Jager, managing director co-head of private real estate Europe at Partners Group, said: “The launch of this student housing platform in continental Europe is evidence of our thematic work in action.

“We have strong conviction in the European student housing sector, especially given the current undersupply of new purpose-built, amenitised student housing in key university cities. We look forward to working with our experienced local partners on building a portfolio of high-quality and sustainable facilities.”

Emanuele Caniggia, CEO, and Emanuele Dubini, CIO and head of international at DeA Capital Real Estate, said: “With around 2.9m and 1.6m students respectively, France and Spain are two of Europe’s largest and fastest-growing student markets.

”Demand for student accommodation remains structurally underpinned by demographic tailwinds. Paris and Barcelona clearly show strong market fundamentals. This strategic JV is of great importance to our international real estate platform.”

Maurizio Carvelli, CEO and founder of Camplus, said: “We are proud of the launch of this new strategic partnership with industry leaders such as Partners Group and DeA Capital Real Estate.

“This is a joint venture that confirms the role of Camplus as a leading player in student housing management. Camplus brings over 30 years of sector expertise and innovation in terms of student experience, customer engagement and support services.”

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