CPP returns to PBSA in €1bn+ JV with Round Hill Capital

Project More, Netherlands, which will be part of the portfolio

Having sold its wholly owned student living accommodation business Liberty Living to the The Unite Group in 2019, Canadian investor CPP Investments is back in the game and has established a PBSA joint venture with Round Hill Capital.

The JV aims to invest more than €1 billion into student accommodation in Europe in what Round Hill Capital founder and CEO Michael Bickford referred to as the two companies’ “joint mission to raise the quality of PBSA assets across the continent.”

CPP Investments has initially allocated €475 million of equity to the venture. By year end the JV is already expected to have approximately 2,000 beds secured in Spain and the Netherlands based on contracted assets and those under exclusivity.

The JV will invest in standing assets and developments across PBSA markets in Europe, with capacity to invest in the major education markets across the continent. Assets will mainly be operated by Nido Student, Round Hill Capital’s specialist PBSA brand.

Round Hill Capital pointed to the deal as a major milestone in its progress in the student housing sector. The company has made 40 PBSA asset acquisitions in the UK and Europe since 2002 collectively worth €1.8 billion. These include recent transactions in Spain, Germany and the Netherlands worth over €150 million.

Unprecedented levels of capital aimed at PBSA

“There are unprecedented levels of capital looking to invest in resilient income streams, but the challenge many will face is having access to deal flow and having the market insight and data to extract maximum value,” said Round Hill Capital’s head of student accommodation Brian Welsh.

“Our long track record in this sector and local presence in core European markets has helped us establish a market-leading position over many years,” he added.

The JV explained in a statement that the European PBSA investment sector is rapidly maturing numbers of students choosing to study in Europe expected to rise over the next five years although most European cities have insufficient high-quality student accommodation to support this growth. The demand for private sector PBSA provision is thus expected to rise significantly.

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