The Student Hotel, a student housing platform primarily focused on the Benelux region, has made its first foray into Spain as part of plans to expand in the European property market.
The Student Hotel, a student housing platform primarily focused on the Benelux region, has made its first foray into Spain as part of plans to expand in the European property market.
The Student Hotel, which is led by founder Charlie MacGregor, has acquired two student halls operated by Melon District in Barcelona from a unit of lender BBVA for an undisclosed amount.
The two properties - Melon District Marina and Melon District Poble-sec - are both leased under long-term agreements and provide a total of 600 rooms over 16,700 m2 as well as 3,150 m2 of retail accommodation. Marina is located at Calle Sacho de Ávila, in the 22@ business district, while Poble-sec is located at Avenida Paralel, in the Sants-Montjuic residential district.
'The sale process received a lot of interest from both domestic and overseas investors, which clearly shows that the Spanish real estate market is one of the favourite destinations for capital at the moment,' commented Jordi Toboso, CEO of JLL in Cataluña, which advised the buyer.
'There is currently an abundance of capital looking at Spain, which is generating additional investment in alternative property assets which up to two years ago would not have raised this level of interest. Student housing in particular is benefiting from growing interest in Barcelona,' added Nick Wride, associate director of JLL Spain's investment team.
Dutch beginnings
MacGregor, a Scot who moved to Amsterdam in 2005, launched The Student Hotel shortly thereafter together with the Carlyle Group. The first project opened in 2008 and despite the crisis, MacGregor acquired new projects in subsequent years.
In 2012 The Student Hotel opened its first Dutch project, followed in 2013 by the flagship Amsterdam project of 707 rooms. In 2014 the company added 800 rooms in Rotterdam and The Hague.
Last October the group received a €150 mln capital injection from US private equity firm Perella Weinberg Real Estate to fund expansion into Europe. Besides Barcelona, The Student Hotel currently has a property in each of the following cities: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Liège and The Hague.
It is targeting 350- to 700-room sites in Paris, London, Madrid, Berlin, Frankfurt, Brighton, Edinburgh and Dublin.
‘The growing number of international students deserves better and more accommodation options, no matter where they go in Europe, and it’s great to work with an investment partner that shares our vision to roll out high quality and community-driven student and hotel accommodation,' Charlie McGregor, founder of The Student Hotel, said at the time.
