European JV Closes $396M Student Housing Fund

A joint venture between Europa Capital and Generation Student has raised $132 million for its Europa Generation student housing fund from several global institutional investors. The fund held its first close following the new capital raising, with a total of $396 million.

The fund, established in 2017, focuses on student housing in the UK and currently has $238 million in assets under management. The properties house a total of 1,561 beds in Bath, Newcastle, Sheffield, Aberdeen and Bournemouth, with 144 beds due to open in Oxford this summer.

“The student accommodation sector remains a highly attractive market that is resilient to economic headwinds and continues to offer favorable supply and demand dynamics,” said Alan Artus, partner at Europa Generation, in prepared remarks. “The shortage of modern, high-quality accommodation in leading university towns and cities is demonstrated by the strong level of demand we have seen across our operational portfolio”

Other joint ventures are getting in the European student housing game as well. A Greystar-led partnership just announced it has acquired a student housing community in London’s Shoreditch neighborhood for more than $210 million from Apache Capital Partners. The joint venture partnered last summer in a $462 million equity investment strategy to grow Chapter, a student housing brand in London. And last September, Greystar launched a platform in France to acquire and develop student housing.

Image via Wikimedia Commons