CA Ventures has announced its entry into the European market with the commencement of an expected €566m (£500m) per annum investment in the development of Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) in the UK and Ireland. The company will also be entering other European markets with commitments in its development pipeline of €339.6m (£300m) a year in The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Italy.
As part of the announcement, CA Ventures has unveiled three PBSA development schemes, backed by capital partner PGIM Real Estate through its European real estate value-add debt platform and senior debt through Investec, in the UK totalling 888 beds. The state-of-the-art facilities, which are expected to be ready for the 2021/2022 academic year, are:
- Glasgow: the development that will contain 422 beds, is situated next to the University of Strathclyde and within walking distance of Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of Glasgow
- Edinburgh: the development will contain 216 beds and is accessible to both Edinburgh Napier University and the University of Edinburgh
- Sheffield: the development will contain 250 beds, is adjacent to Sheffield University and within walking distance of Sheffield Hallam University
CA Ventures immediate pipeline also includes; 257 beds in Dublin, Ireland; 251 beds in Belfast; and further schemes in Bristol, York and Edinburgh; which will all be delivered for the 2021/2022 academic year.
Carlo Matta, Head of Europe, CA Ventures said: “We are very pleased to announce the start of our first development schemes in Europe. Outside of the US; the UK is the largest destination for international students but remains severely under-supplied with purpose-built student accommodations. The UK Government’s recent extension to residency rights for international students, post-graduation, is a great signal to the global student community. We see a significant opportunity in the UK, Ireland and continental Europe, to deliver a modern, high-quality student living experience. Limited supply, increasing obsolescence of an older product and growing university enrolment has created a very favourable supply/demand dynamic, and we at CA Ventures have invested heavily in building out a development and property management infrastructure to execute our long-term growth plan. Across commercial real estate product types, we feel that student accommodation offers some of the best risk-adjusted returns given the ability to satisfy demand from both domestic and international students.”
