KKR and Round Hill Capital have acquired a 3.1ha site for the development of a new housing scheme in the Netherlands for an undisclosed sum. The companies have invested in the project alongside Stadium Capital Partners. The scheme will provide much-needed accommodation for students and young professionals. The project has been acquired from Ontwikkelings Combinatie Oudenrijn, a development joint venture between Van Beek & Partners Vastgoedbeleggingen, Veluwezoom Verkerk Vastgoedontwikkeling, DSO Deelnemingen and ICOON Vastgoed. Wessels Rijssen and Veluwezoom Verkerk Bouw, both Volker Wessels companies, will be responsible for construction. ING Bank will provide the financing.
The deal marks KKR and Round Hill’s first student housing transaction in the Netherlands, a country which exhibits positive investment fundamentals, favourable housing demand/supply dynamics and robust economic performance. Round Hill is currently funding a pipeline of over 7,000 student accommodation beds across the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
The site, located between Utrecht Central railway station and the City’s business district, benefits from a close proximity to the city centre and the Utrecht University. It features a dilapidated Oudenrijn hospital building, which along with a new 23 storey building will provide 577 purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) units. In addition, the scheme includes 173 residential apartments targeted at young professionals. Once completed, the PBSA will be managed by The Nido Collection.
Commenting on the acquisition, Michael Bickford, founder and CEO of Round Hill Capital, said: “Round Hill has more than a 12 year track record of successful investment and development as well as asset management expertise across residential real estate in Europe, and this transaction, alongside our other recent Dutch investments, significantly enhances our platform in the Netherlands, which remains a key focus of our strategy. This high-quality student and residential housing development scheme, our first student housing scheme in the Netherlands, will help to meet the continuing growing demand for housing within Utrecht. Round Hill remains committed to making further (re)development investments in the Netherlands and across wider Europe, whilst also continuing to look to make more investments in residential property in line with our existing strategy and growth plans.”
Seb d’Avanzo, Director at KKR, commented: “This is a high-quality development in an excellent location, and we see significant upside potential in the Netherlands, a market which exhibits strong growth drivers for student housing. KKR’s European real estate platform has a successful track record in executing partnership deals, and this acquisition represents an exciting first step in KKR’s partnership with Round Hill Capital. We look forward to working with them to expand our footprint in student accommodation and residential housing in select European markets.”
