Spanish financial services company Bankinter has created a venture capital fund to invest €300-400 mln in university residences across the Iberian Peninsula.
The bank said it had already acquired a first plot in Granada for €9 mln and is currently securing deals in Valencia and Oporto for the V Student Iberia fund.
Managed by Plenium Partners, the investment vehicle has an initial capital of €150 mln.
Initially created as an investment option for the firm's private lending clients, Bankinter has contributed €10 mln to the fund, while US real estate agent Valeo has invested €4 mln. Plenium Partners has committed €1.5 mln.
The fund aims to construct and launch at least four university residences in Spain and Portugal in the next three years, with some 2,500 beds.
The ultimate target is a portfolio of some 9,000 beds in the Iberian peninsula's principal cities, including Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Malaga, Granada, Lisbon and Oporto.
The fund launch follows the recent creation by Bankinter of two other real estate vehicles, Ores Socimi, for commercial assets, in partnership with Sonae Sierra, and Atom, a hotel investment fund.
