Bouwfonds European Student Housing fund has closed its first three acquisitions in Germany, Scotland and the Netherlands.
Bouwfonds European Student Housing fund has closed its first three acquisitions in Germany, Scotland and the Netherlands.
The total investment volume amounts to €68.7 mln. The fund is open for new investors who want to participate in the vehicle's second closing.
In the UK, the fund acquired a student residence at the former Gateway Theater scheme in the Scottish capital Edinburgh with in total 140 apartments. These represent a total of 170 beds allocated to studios, 2-bed and 3-bed cluster flats, which are all en suite.
More than 60,000 students study in Edinburgh, which has three universities including Edinburgh University which enjoys the highest ranking in the top 100 universities of the world. The seller is a joint venture partner from London, Cornwall Property Partners and Kitty Hawk Capital Partners. The investment volume amounts to €20.4 mln.
In the Netherlands, a property of almost 9,000 m2 has been acquired on Van Heenvlietlaan 220 in Amsterdam. The building dates from 1975 and has been used as an office building up to now, but it will be converted to student housing in the course of this year.
The property will consist of 354 studios with an average size of 24 m2, each with its own kitchen and bathroom. All floors can be reached by lift and the property will have space for 54 cars. The city of Amsterdam is one of the most attractive university cities in the Netherlands and has two universities and several colleges. The investment volume amounts to €26 mln and the vendor is Amsterdam City Pads.
In Germany, the fund acquired a property of 9,300 m2 on August-Bebel-Strasse 17A-C in Dresden. The building is currently under construction and will be completed in autumn 2014. It will consist of 336 apartments with separate kitchens and bathrooms and floor space ranging from 19 to 33 m2. All units can be reached by lift and the property will provide parking spaces for 66 cars. The total investment volume amounts to €22.3 mln. The vendor is A-B 17 Project.
Bouwfonds IM launched the Bouwfonds European Student Housing Fund in 2013. The fund, with a target fund volume of €200-300 mln, is open for new investors who want to participate.
'We see strong interest in student housing and our first acquisitions and pipeline of investments show that we bring our customers good quality stock in those pan-European markets where the academic ranking is high and the total education costs over the full cycle - expressed in housing costs and academic fees - are low, in line with our investment strategy', said fund director Xavier Jongen.