Greystar Brings European Platform to France
The company will open a Paris office, led by Directeur Général for France Hideki Kurata. His team will focus on building a portfolio to include both student and multifamily properties.
Hideki Kurata
Greystar has launched its platform in France, to acquire and develop purpose-built student and rental housing in the market. The company will be opening an office in Paris, which will be led by Hideki Kurata. He will serve as Directeur Général for France and is responsible for overseeing a team that will focus on building a portfolio to include both student and multifamily properties. Before joining Greystar, Kurata served as head of real estate private equity for AXA IM – Real Assets.
“I’m thrilled to contribute to Greystar’s European growth strategy by launching its office in Paris. Greystar’s position and experience as a global leader in rental housing represent a perfect platform to leverage France’s solid economic and demographic dynamics,” Kurata told Multi-Housing News. “The shortage of purpose-built student accommodation and rental housing create great opportunities to scale our institutional platform. I know that Greystar’s innovative products will resonate with the region’s diverse and growing rental population over the long term. Our goal is to provide superior experience to our residents and superior service to our partners as we contribute to the continued professionalization of rental housing across France.”
European expansion
The France office is a key part of the firm’s continued expansion program, which is aimed at positioning Greystar as a provider and operator of multifamily housing in all major European cities. Other offices include London, the Netherlands, Frankfurt, Barcelona and Madrid, in addition to its recent acquisition of RESA in 2017, the largest student housing operator in Spain.
Greystar currently manages 480,000 units in more than 150 markets around the world. In Europe, the firm owns and operates a student and multifamily housing portfolio valued at more than $8.3 billion (€7 billion) comprising 49,000 units across the UK, Spain, Netherlands and Austria.
In June, a joint venture between Greystar, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Allianz Real Estate, partnered in a $461.6 million equity investment strategy to grow Chapter, London’s student housing accommodation brand. The companies plan to double the size of the portfolio reaching 10,000 beds in the next five years.
Image courtesy of Greystar
