Syllabus and Invesco Developing Nine Student Residences in Spain and Portugal

21 October 2019 – Urbania’s subsidiary Syllabus, which signed an agreement with Invesco at the beginning of the year, currently has projects for nine student residences underway in Spain and Portugal.

In total, the firm’s investments will add 3,000 beds to its portfolio, in addition to the 2,500 it had already planned to build by 2021. The total investment in the nine projects in Spain and Porto is forecast to exceed €150 million.

The company is planning or building two student residences in Madrid and one each in Valencia, Malaga, Pamplona, ​​Seville, Salamanca and Porto in addition to other investments the firm has yet to disclose.

The projects are part of a collaboration agreement Syllabus signed with Invesco at the beginning of the year. The two firms agreed to invest 250 million euros over five years in student residences in Spain.

Original Story: Eje Prime – Marc Vidal Ordeig

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Syllabus Will Build a New 220-Room Student Residence in Sevilla

10 July 2019 – Richard D. K. Turner

Syllabus, a subsidiary of Urbania specialising in student residences, will invest fifteen million euros in a new dormitory in Sevilla. The new project will consist of 220 rooms, with a surface area of ​​6,150 square meters. The residence is expected to open to students for the 2021-2022 school year.

Syllabus is looking to manage up to 2,500 beds in in Spain and Portugal’s main university cities, attempting to partially fill the current lack of supply. In parallel, Urbania recently signed a contract for the US group Greystar to manage the Syllabus residences in Spain.

Original Story: Eje Prime

 

Student Residences Leads Market with Yield of 5.5%

9 July 2019 – Richard D. K. Turner

According to a study by Jones Lang Lassalle (JLL) in April, a total of 47 student housing developments were currently underway in Spain. Of those, 7,500 will be ready by next year and another 10,000 by 2022. The estimated total investment is expected to reach €1 billion. However, the market needs another 400,000 beds to catch up with existing demand.

The report also highlighted the sector’s comparatively attractive yields.  Student residences have a yield of about 5% in Madrid and Barcelona and of 5% in smaller cities in the country. That yield equals the yields for logistics assets and geriatric residences. The yield for hotels (4%), retail premises (3.15%), offices (3.50%) and residences (3.50%) all lag behind.

The market for student residences in Spain is currently dominated by Resa and Nexo Residencias. U.S.-based Valeo, Temprano Capital Partners and Syllabus have also began operations in recent months.

Original Story: El Confidencial – Álvaro G. Zarzalejos

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

Syllabus Delegates the Management of its Student Halls to Greystar

4 April 2019 – Idealista

The student hall specialist Syllabus by Urbania has signed an agreement with the US company Greystar to delegate it the administration of its halls of residence, which it operates under its own brand.

The agreement covers the functions of marketing, administration and general property management, amongst others, and Greystar is going to assign a dedicated team to its new client.

Syllabus has a portfolio of projects under development comprising more than 2,500 beds, and following its strategic investment agreement with Invesco Real Estate, it is now also working on a growth plan for up to 10,000 units over the next few years.

Greystar, which was founded in 1993, already manages 50,000 beds in halls of residence around the world for brands such as Chapter and Sailmakers in the UK, OurDomain in the Netherlands, EdR and Rockoff Hall in the USA, and Resa in Spain.

Original story: Idealista 

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

Urbania to Open a Hall of Residence for Students in Pamplona

18 February 2019 – Expansión

Urbania is increasing its commitment to halls of residence for students. The real estate firm, through its subsidiary Syllabus, is planning to open a new accommodation block for university students in Pamplona, with 300 rooms and an investment of €17 million. This hall of residence in Pamplona will be added to the group’s other projects in Madrid, Málaga and Valencia. Moreover, the group is analysing new opportunities.

The hall of residence in Pamplona will occupy a plot with a surface area of 8,837 m2. Construction will commence in 2019 and is expected to be completed in 2021. This accommodation is going to be constructed in the area near to the El Sadar stadium, a stone’s throw from the Universidad Pública de Navarra and its sports facilities, the Uned campus and less than 2km away from the Universidad de Navarra campus.

The new hall of residence will comprise six storeys and will have an extensive green area inside. As well as the 300 rooms, it will have several shared kitchens, spaces for study, a gym, a cinema area, a coworking space, leisure areas and a laundry (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

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

 

Urbania to Open 2 Coworking Offices in Barcelona in September

16 July 2018 – Eje Prime 

Urbania is diversifying within the real estate market by investing in more sectors on the rise. After launching Syllabus, its brand specialising in halls of residences for students, just a few months ago, the group is now promoting coworking offices and shared working spaces across the country, according to a statement issued by the company.

Monday is the name that the group has chosen for this new venture, which will inaugurate its first two office centres in Barcelona in September. Both will have a surface area of 2,000 m2, with capacity for 200 people and they will be located in La Barceloneta and on Avenida Tibidabo in the Catalan capital.

In addition, Urbania has explained that it is considering opening two new premises in Barcelona before the end of the year. This first phase will be the kick off to an “ambitious” national expansion plan, although the company declined to share further details in this regard.

The coworking in La Barceloneta will be located opposite the sea and beach of the same name, whilst the office on Avenida Tibidabo, at the opposite end of the city, in the foothills of the mountains, will have a gym, squash courts and a swimming pool. Monday has already started to market its first two spaces and expects to have 50% of the two centres reserved within the next few weeks.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake