Tag: Amro

Investment Funds Seek Land for Student Residences in Sevilla, Málaga & Granada

13 May 2019 – ABC de Sevilla

According to CBRE Spain, many investment funds are searching for land in Sevilla, Málaga and Granada on which to build new halls of residence for students. Ideally, they want plots that are located close to the university campuses or in well-connected areas of those cities.

Specialist student residence companies are also in the market for land, such as the company Syllabus by Urbania, which is actively looking for new plots in Sevilla and Granada.

The British firm Amro is already working on two projects, in Granada and Sevilla, and is now searching for land in Málaga, as well as in Salamanca, Alicante, Bilbao and Barcelona.

Similarly, Greystar, which is building a 322-bed hall of residence in Málaga, also wants to expand its footprint in Sevilla and Granada.

Lack of beds for students

In Spain, there are 1.5 million students, of which around 600,000 do not live in their home towns or cities. Nevertheless, there are less than 100,000 beds available for students and they are primarily located in Madrid, Barcelona, Salamanca, Granada, Valencia, Málaga and Sevilla. Moreover, most of the existing supply is obsolete. The need to expand and renew the stock is clear.

Original story: ABC de Sevilla (by María Jesús Pereira)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Invesco, GSA, Amro & Bankinter are Committed to the Student Hall Sector

6 April 2019 – Expansión

Halls of residence for students have become one of the most sought after assets in the real estate sector in recent years. The demand for beds (which far outstrips supply), the growth forecasts for the market and the lack of suitable supply for the new requirements of the market has led operators and investors to get involved in the promotion and development of new halls of residence.

Four of the largest investors are planning to spend €1.5 billion in the sector over the next few years, as follows:

GSA, which arrived in Spain in 2017, with the purchase of 3 halls of residence from Oaktree, wants to invest €500 million in Spain and Portugal to grow a portfolio of 15,000 beds. It already has four centres in operation and plans to open two more in Barcelona soon.

Meanwhile, Invesco has teamed up with Syllabus, the subsidiary of Urbania, to invest €250 million in new halls of residence with the aim of adding 2,000 beds in Spain and Portugal; and that figure could rise to 3,500.

In addition, the British firm Amro Real Estate is looking to invest €300 million in 5,000 new beds across Spain and Portugal and has just closed its first investment in Granada, where it will build a hall of residence with 360 beds.

Finally, Bankinter has launched a private equity fund to invest between €300 million and €400 million in the construction of student halls across Iberia; its first project will also be in Granada.

The future is bright for the growth of this segment.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Amro Acquires Building for Future Student Residence in Seville

7 February 2019

The British company, which specialises in student residences, has plans for 5,000 new beds in Spain and Portugal, 3,000 of which are already under negotiation.

Amro Real Estate is going through its paces. The British company specialising in the development and management of student residences has just acquired a building in Seville where it will create accommodations for 332 university students, another step in the company’s expansion plans for Spain.

The company estimates that the refurbishment of the 9,300-square-meter building will begin this summer. The residence is expected to open in January 2021, with common areas, group study areas, a dining room, gym and parking.

Amro, which consulted with CBRE, was attracted to the complex’s location. Situated between the campuses of the universities of Seville, Pablo Olavide and Loyola Andalucía, it could serve any of the 38,600 students enrolled in the three schools.

Original Story: EjePrime

Translation: Richard Turner

From Greystar to GSA, a Who’s Who of Investors in Spain’s Market for Student Residences

27 August 2018

With returns of 5.5%, the student housing market has become the new El Dorado of the real estate market. A long list of foreign funds are beginning to invest in this sector in Spain, and the supply of accommodations is expected to rise by almost 10% up to 2019.

Anglo-Saxon funds and operators dominate the wave of foreign capital that is taking on the market for student residences, one that offers returns of 5.5% in Spain. Just in 2017, investments grew from 50 million to 600 million euros.

The supply of assets in this alternative market has increased by 3.5% since 2015, boasting 93,563 beds in the market at the close of last year. Forecasts expect the sector to grow by another 1.5% this year and up to 7.7% at the end of 2019, according to data from the consultancy JLL. Which are the funds that dominate the sector? And who set to join this latest rush for gold?

The high point of the new wave of international investment in Spain’s resis (student residences) was reached at the end of 2017. Until December, Resa was considered the king of the residential market for university students in the country. It was owned by for years by the firm Lazora (Azora) until the arrival of the joint venture formed by AXA Real Assets and CBRE Global Investment Partners funds, which made an offer for roughly 500 million euros. Subsequently, the company’s 37 assets, distributed among 33 buildings and four undeveloped plots of land, were taken over by the specialised operator Greystar, partner of AXA Real Assets and CBRE GI.

Greystar’s place at the top of the list remains firm, but a long list of other players are vying to take the top spot. The British operators GSA and Collegiate, and the Luxembourg fund manager Corestate all have ambitious plans for growth in Spain.

GSA will invest 300 million euros in new acquisitions in the Spanish market, as reported by EjePrime. The international student-accommodation giant expects to be managing 10,000 beds in Spain within five years’ time. For now, the company has two projects underway in Barcelona, ​​in a total investment of thirty million euros, and is already working on plans to enter the market in Madrid, as well as exploring other cities such as Salamanca along with regional capitals in the south and north of the country.

For its part, Collegiate allied itself with the Spanish group Early Capital at the beginning of the year to enter Barcelona. The operator will manage the student residences at the Finestrelles complex, in Esplugues de Llobregat, acquired by Early last autumn, its third asset after the ones it already owns in Madrid and Valencia. Now, the company is looking for opportunities in Bilbao, Malaga and Granada.

Corestate also flew in from Luxembourg. Like the more than 473,000 university students who arrive every year in the country, searching for accommodation, the fund is looking to enrol in the sector. After beginning work on its first two projects, in Madrid (inauguration in September) and Seville, it is now finalising the purchase of a plot of land on which it is to develop another 400 beds. The manager’s goal is to become one of the top three players in the sector by 2020, with more than a thousand beds spread across the country. The company is already analysing the acquisition of another half a dozen plots of land to attain the goal it set for itself.

The Student Hotel is another of the major European players that have begun to take a close look at Spain. The Dutch operator has announced plans to invest 240 million euros in Spain and has already acquired two assets in Barcelona and will debut its first project in Madrid in 2019.

The Spanish ‘resi’ listed on the MAB

Although much of the capital that is being allocated to the student residence market in Spain comes from abroad, the local players are also looking for their piece of the pie. The Lofttown and Syllabus, a specialised vehicle created by Urbania International, are two clear examples of emerging, local interest in the sector.

Lofttown started its journey in the picturesque neighbourhood of Gràcia in Barcelona. Presided over by Santiago de Cruilles, the company already has two more projects in the Catalan capital in which it invested 24 million euros, EjePrime reported. The company is also analysing a possible debut in other cities around the country, such as Madrid, Girona and Valencia.

For its part, Syllabus is already currently one of the most active investors in the student residence market. Created last April by Urbania, the vehicle expects to invest up to 200 million euros in the development of new student residences in Spain. The company hired the former CEO of Hill International, Jeffrey Sújar, and has already made its first acquisitions, in Valencia and Malaga.

In addition, the university market in Spain is undergoing such a boom that a company that focuses on the market is also listed on the local stock exchange. Student Properties debuted on the Mercado Alternativo Bursátil (MAB) last December. Currently, the company owns a single asset, located in the district of Salamanca in Madrid.

Other possible arrivals

During this year and, above all, the one that is coming, new players are expected to enter the market for university residences. On such arrival is the American giant CA Ventures, which has Spain squarely in its sights within a 500-million-euro European investment plan.

Other institutional investors that are interested in the market include the Belgian group Life, the American investment fund Round Hill and the British operator Amro. The latter is looking for a partner in the national market to invest up to €300 million to create a portfolio of 5,000 beds in southern Europe.

Original Story: EjePrime – Jabier Izquierdo

Translation: Richard Turner