TPG and Urbania form joint venture to invest in Spanish student housing

The real estate arm of private equity firm TPG and local developer Urbania have teamed up to buy a 1,000-unit student-housing portfolio in Spain.

TPG Real Estate Partners (TREP) and Urbania have formed a joint venture to acquire the three assets and operate them under the BCOME brand.

One asset in Pamplona opened in September and the other two, in Madrid and Salamanca, are under development.

TREP and Urbania will look to acquire other purpose-built student housing and development projects in select university cities in Spain.

Urbania develops real estate in Spain, Portugal and Brazil. TREP is already active in Germany’s student-housing market through its Campus Living platform.

Michael Abel, partner at TREP, said: “We have been studying the student-housing market in continental Europe for many years, and we are pleased to partner with Urbania to build an institutional portfolio of scale that provides students across Spain with affordable, high-quality living options.

“Despite the growing number of domestic and international students, Spain remains one of the most undersupplied European markets in terms of purpose-built student accommodation.”

Alberto López, partner at Urbania, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with TREP in a joint mission to raise the quality of purpose-built student accommodation assets across the Iberia market.

“TREP’s deep investment expertise complements our local market experience and capabilities, which span development to operations. We rapidly established ourselves as a first mover in this market and have a proven ability to deliver best-in-class student hospitality.”

Harrison Street to develop Pamplona property

Meanwhile, real estate investment manager Harrison Street and local developer TEC Engineering have announced the development of a 444-bed, purpose-built student accommodation property in Pamplona.

Comprised of two interconnected buildings with 360 units, the asset is located in the city centre.

It adds to Harrison Street’s Spanish student-housing portfolio, which now encompasses some 4,200 beds.

Paul Bashir, CEO of Harrison Street’s European business, said: “Pamplona is home to leading Spanish universities and a large and growing student population, yet it lacks high-quality student-housing options.

“Additionally, Spain is a top-10 global student destination, and we are excited to deepen our presence in this attractive market as well as expand our partnership with TEC, an experienced local developer with a strong track record, to deliver modern and needed living options for Pamplona’s students.”