Ardian and Rockfield have launched a long-term, strategic partnership to invest in Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) assets across Continental Europe, with Ardian acting as investment manager.
CBRE Investment Management, a major global real assets investment management firm, will act as a founding investor with an initial equity commitment of €500 mln through its Indirect Private Real Estate Strategies on behalf of global institutional investors.
The strategy aims to create a diversified portfolio of high-quality PBSA assets and will focus on European markets where student housing is in high demand and short supply, specifically in Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Germany and France. The first investments are expected to be concluded before year-end.
Target acquisitions will be predominantly income-producing properties, as well as selective forward purchase opportunities, to capture value through the development of new, high-quality student residences.
With a core+ focus, the strategy aims to create value by enhancing the operational performance of its assets, as well as their potential to contribute to the global effort of reducing GHG emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.
'There is an unprecedent window of opportunity in investing in European PBSA markets due to a lack of liquidity and structural undersupply in leading university cities, combined with increasing demand predominantly driven by demographics. We believe that Ardian and Rockfield’s joint expertise and strong cultural alignment position us perfectly to address this widening supply/demand gap in the student housing market for high-quality assets with a robust environmental performance and with the potential for further operational improvement,' said Matteo Minardi, head of real estate Italy and managing director at Ardian.
'Our strategic partnership with Ardian starts with probably one of the largest pots of dry powder capital ready to invest in student accommodation across the continent. Europe is a growing global education hub with student numbers expected to rise by 10% by 2031,' added Juan Acosta, partner and CIO at Rockfield.
The Rockfield team will work alongside Ardian to identify investment opportunities and provide asset and property management and development services.
'The student housing market across Continental Europe presents a compelling and resilient growth opportunity, while the investment landscape is fragmented. This strategy enables us to strategically access the market on a pan-European scale, leveraging the combined expertise of Ardian and Rockfield. We are thrilled to partner with them and look forward to deploying capital into this attractive asset class,' commented Line Verroken, senior director, CBRE IM Indirect Private Real Estate.
Ardian, Rockfield and CBRE IM have been respectively advised by Linklaters, Garrigues and Jones Day.
