Living for students
"PBSA is countercyclical, with student numbers increasing in times of economic downturn, ensuring strong levels of demand."
- Savills, 2022
MARKET
Tenant demand for high-quality student accommodation is strong, especially in under-supplied, albeit internationally popular, university cities.
2020 - 2022 saw student numbers increase across Europe (internationals by an average of 3.7%). In the next five years student-aged populations (15-19) are forecast to rise on average by 5.8%, (Oxford Economics).
PBSA beds available and in development are not enough to provide for these student increases. Furthermore, many current PBSA beds are outdated and in need of updates and refurbishments. As of 2022, 63% of the PBSA supply is in the public student housing market, largely neither of quality nor aligned to international practices and standards. Occupancy rates have been between 95 - 97% for PBSA since 2021 and the increase of students shows no threat to this figure. In reality, there will only be a continuously rising need for quality student accommodation.
UNIVERSITY STUDENT MARKET NUMBERS per annum:
EUROPE
(2020, EuroStats):
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c. 18m total students
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c. 1.46m (8%) total international students
ITALY
(2021/22, MIUR):
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c. 1.82m total students
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c. 109,680 (6%) international
UNITED KINGDOM
(2020/21, House of Commons):
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c. 2.66m total students
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c. 605,130 (22%) international
INVESTMENT
Student numbers are continuously increasing and there remains a clear need for quality PBSA, a proven countercyclical asset class, representing good investment opportunities.
According to Savills PBSA is one of the top real estate portfolio investments, due to the favorable market supply and demand figures. Yields have been remaining stable throughout 2022 and the average prime across Europe is 4.15%. Net income growth will be sustained even amidst the current inflation, due to the increasing student numbers and lack of housing available.
With offices in Italy and the UK, we are pioneers, addressing the serious imbalance between supply and demand, particularly for international students in European historic cities. Italy and the UK are rated in the US as the world's top international student destinations.
We are working with several institutional investors and welcome approaches from other interested parties.
DEVELOPMENT
We acquire, develop, refurbish, invest in and operate European property, with a primary focus on delivery as modern PBSA and other forms of communal living.
Assets acquired to date are located in the historic centre of Florence, Italy. By Summer 2023 these deliver 331 beds, positioned in prime locations, benefitting from quick access to several academic institutions, and public transportation including the train and tram station.
We are researching, negotiating and well advanced in purchasing other PBSA opportunities in university cities throughout Europe.
These comprise:
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development opportunities for us to implement, with planning permission, already obtained;
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developments for purchase on practical completion;
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developments for forward-funding;
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other proposals tailored to investor requirements.
We also seek to build relationships with regular development partners to work with us in joint ventures to enable a seamless process from initial site evaluation through to the first student checking in.
Please be in touch for more detail.
