Amro Plans to Invest €500M to Reach 5,000 Beds in Spain & Portugal in 3 Years

18 June 2019 – Eje Prime

Amro Real Estate Partners is planning to invest €500 million to grow its portfolio of student beds in Spain and Portugal to 5,000 over the next 3 years.

The British company, which specialises in investing in and managing student halls is going to undertake the investment in partnership with a family office whose name has not been disclosed. It plans to accumulate between 10 and 15 halls of residence by 2022.

In this vein, the company has just purchased its third asset in Spain, a plot of land with a buildable surface area of 6,000 m2, which will house 229 beds, in the Teatinos neighbourhood of Málaga. Work will start on the construction of that hall of residence in Q1 2020 with completion scheduled in time for the academic year commencing September 2021.

Amro’s two existing assets in Spain are under development and include a hall of residence in Granada, which will contain 354 beds with a buildable surface area of 11,300 m2, and a student hall in Sevilla, which is going to have 341 beds and a buildable surface area of 9,172 m2.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Marta Casado Pla)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

US Firm Valeo Groupe Wants to Build 20,000 Beds in Student Halls in Spain

11 June 2019 – Cinco Días

After teaming up with Bankinter to invest in Spain last year, the US firm Valeo Groupe has now announced that it wants to become the market leader in the student residence sector. According to its CEO for Europe, Peter Haspel, “Our objective in Spain is to reach 20,000 beds”.

The firm does not have a detailed timeframe at this stage but its target would make it the market leader or one of the largest players in the country, alongside Resa, which currently has 10,000 beds, and Nexo Residencias, which is growing rapidly. Haspel considers that Spain has the capacity for 500,000 beds compared with the existing supply of 98,000.

The company has already designed a first investment plan amounting to between €300 million and €400 million to build 10 halls of residence in Spain and Portugal over the next two or three years.

It has already started work on a project in Granada and is about to launch one in Porto. They will be followed by new halls in other major cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon, Valencia, Sevilla and Bilbao.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

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

Temprano Capital Appoints Livensa Living to Help with Marketing, Sales & Operations

22 April 2019 – Press Release

Temprano Capital Partners, in partnership with CPA®:18 – Global and Carey European Student Housing Fund I, LP, has appointed Livensa Living, powered by CRM Students, to undertake marketing, sales and operations for their openings in 2019 in Barcelona and Porto.

Livensa Living is an Iberian based sales and marketing platform focused on student accommodation.

CRM Students is a leading, international student accommodation manager operating over 50 student residences, totalling more than 23,000 beds.

With this appointment, Temprano Capital Partners, as developer and co-investor with CPA®:18 – Global for Barcelona and Carey European Student Housing Fund I, LP for Porto, aims to provide best in class management solutions and student experiences across its growing portfolio of operating assets.

Temprano Capital Partners currently comprises a portfolio of 10 projects, either operating or under development, across Iberia’s best university cities and 3,500 rooms. It aims to double this number over 3 years.

CPA®:18 – Global and Carey European Student Housing Fund I, LP are currently developing 8,500 beds across 19 properties in Spain and Portugal.

Both projects, Livensa Living U. Porto Campus and Livensa Living Barcelona Diagonal Alto, will be inaugurated in September 2019.

Livensa Living Barcelona Diagonal Alto, acquired in 2017, benefits from a privileged location 10 minutes from UB Barcelona University and UPC via a 24/7 tram service and adjacent to the Finistrelles Shopping Centre. This location will allow the residence to address the unsatisfied accommodation needs of students studying at various universities and educational facilities in Barcelona.

The project will have 372 premium studios in a 10,500 sqm building. In addition to its superior common areas, the property has an incredible roof terrace which will include a chill-out area, a secret garden, an open-air gym and yoga space, a premium bar, an outdoor concert stage and an infinity swimming pool benefitting from amazing, panoramic views across the city of Barcelona.

Livensa Living Porto Campus, also acquired in 2017, is located on Rua Dr. Manuel Pereira da Silva in Porto. It is strategically located in Asprela´s University Campus accounting for approximately 75% of all university students in Porto. The residence is located next to the metro station Universidade making it a superbly connected site.

The project will provide 580 premium studios in a building of two wings 20,000 sqm with a large landscaped central courtyard housing a landscaped garden, a gym and yoga area, a large terrace with bar and a swimming pool.

Original story: Press Release

Edited by: 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

BNP Paribas: Investment in the Real Estate Sector Amounted to €2.0bn in Q1 2018

1 April 2019 – Eje Prime

Investment in real estate assets amounted to €2.0 billion during the first quarter of 2019, down by 5% compared to the same period in 2018, according to data from the consultancy firm BNP Paribas Real Estate.

Investment in the office sector amounted to €900 million, accounting for 47% of the total, with prime yields remaining stable at 3.25% in Madrid and 3.5% in Barcelona.

Investment in the retail segment amounted to €410 million, where prime yields reached 3% on high street stores, 5% on shopping centres and 5.75% on retail parks.

Investment in alternative assets amounted to €305 million, with investors increasingly interested in halls of residence for students and nursing homes for the elderly.

Finally, in the logistics sector, investment amounted to €206 million, boosted by the growth in e-commerce and consumption.

By type of investor, 50% of the transacted volume proceeded from investment funds, whilst Socimis contributed 18% of the total volume.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

The Hatchwell’s Socimi Excem Plans a €300M Capital Increase

18 March 2019 – El Confidencial 

The Socimi Excem, which is linked to the Hatchwell family, considers that its particular business model is immune to the new Rental Act. The company specialises in the rental of shared flats to university students and young professionals. As such, its clients are not subject to some of the aspects of the new legislation that are causing the most concern, such as the new contract terms (five or six years) or the limits on avals and guarantees.

Each young person pays the Socimi an average of €600 per month by way of rent and typically stays in the property for less than a year. That allows the vehicle to generate a gross return of 7.46%.

Moreover, in Spain, around 400,000 students have to find accommodation every year and 85% of them want a shared flat, rather than a hall of residence. As such, Excem is convinced that it needs to expand its business model across Spain and, to this end, is planning to undertake a €300 million capital increase this summer to finance that expansion.

Currently, Excem has 42 flats comprising 288 rooms, spanning a residential surface area of 8,000 m2. The company wants to expand to Barcelona and Valencia first, although it also has cities such as Málaga, Sevilla, Bilbao and Vigo on its radar. The aim is to grow the portfolio to include 4,000 beds across the whole Peninsula.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Collegiate Seeks Funding of €2bn to Build More Student Halls in Spain

12 March 2019 – Idealista

Collegiate, a global leader in the student halls sector, is looking to raise €2 billion to grow its portfolio of halls of residence in countries such as Spain, the UK and Portugal.

The company, which already manages more than 20 developments in the United Kingdom and across the Iberian Peninsula, typically invests between €35 million and €100 million per asset, and so the company could be looking to open up to 60 new halls of residence if it obtains the aforementioned funding. Collegiate is looking to meet an unprecedented demand for high-end student accommodation.

In 2018, the student hall sector in Spain received investment of €450 million, up by 2.3% YoY, according to a report from DBK. Across the country, there were 1,025 halls of residence last year, containing 91,066 beds, a figure that is expected to rise to 95,500 beds by 2020.

Original story: Idealista (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Invesco & Syllabus to Invest €250M in Halls of Residence for Students

4 March 2019 – Eje Prime

Invesco is teaming up with Syllabus, the subsidiary owned by Urbania, to enter the sector for student residences. Together, the two firms plan to invest €250 million over five years in the construction and purchase of buildings for use as halls of residence.

In total, the alliance seeks to add more than 2,000 rooms to the supply in Madrid, Málaga, Valencia, Barcelona, Pamplona and Salamanca. The current plan involves opening two residences in Madrid in 2020 and one in Málaga in 2021.

Invesco will be the majority shareholder of the investment platform and Syllabus will hold a minority stake. The latter will also promote and manage the halls of residence. Many of the company’s plans involve change-of-use properties, in other words, hospitals and office buildings that will be converted into alternative assets.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Summary/Translation: Carmel Drake

DBK: Investment in Student Residences Rose to €450M in 2018

26 February 2019 – La Vanguardia

Investment in student halls continued to rise to reach €450 million in 2018, up by 2.3% YoY compared to 2017, according to a sectorial report from DBK.

For DBK, “the increase in supply and the favourable environment allowed sustained growth in revenues”. At the end of 2018, there were 1,025 university residences and colleges in operation in Spain, with 91,066 beds (…).

In terms of the total supply, an increase of 1,361 units was recorded in 2018, which, according to DBK “prolonged the trend of significant growth seen in previous years”. In fact, the supply grew by 3,023 beds between 2017 and 2018.

Looking ahead to the period 2019-2020, DBK expects revenues in the sector to increase by around 5% p.a. (…).

It also expects projects to open new residences to follow a moderate growth rate in terms of the number of places for the next two years. Thus, it expects the total national capacity to exceed 95,500 beds by 2020, 4,500 more than in 2018.

Original story: La Vanguardia 

Translation: Carmel Drake