GSA Student Accommodation in Spain, Oaktree Spanish Building News, Central Madrid University Architecture Images
GSA Student Accommodation in Spain
GSAF Euro Campus Housing in central Madrid Spain – Javier Aguilar Viyuela, Carmen Bonet Baiget and Zacarías González
22 Jun 2017
GSA Student Accommodation in Madrid
Architects: Javier Aguilar Viyuela, Carmen Bonet Baiget and Zacarías González
Location: central Madrid, Spain
GSA Student Accommodation in Madrid, Spain
GSA, the global student accommodation leader, announces that it has acquired a Spanish student accommodation portfolio, operating business and brand, from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”).
The transaction comprises 914 operational beds across three properties and a further 1,320 beds in development. The deal will strengthen GSA’s leading position in the burgeoning European student accommodation sector. The acquisition was funded by GSA’s European Global Student Accommodation Fund (GSAF Euro), with debt funding arranged by LaSalle Investment Management.
The operational portfolio is located in central Madrid and comprises four assets: Galdos, with 370 beds in the heart of the city’s main university campus; El Faro with 358 beds, in a brand new award-winning building and Claraval, a prime city centre location which comprises 186 beds. In September 2017, the newly completed Lope de Vega University Residence, will open for the first time, becoming home to 468 domestic and international students.
The transaction delivers two further development schemes in Barcelona and a strong pipeline of new opportunities in Barcelona, Madrid and other Spanish markets. The two development sites will be ready for occupation in 2019 taking the total number of beds up to 2,234. The first of these, Barcelona Sants, will deliver 348 beds and is ideally located opposite the city’s mainline station. The second development site, known as Campus Sur Diagonal, will comprise 504 beds and is located on the main university campus, close to the legendary Camp Nou football stadium.
El Faro
Javier Aguilar Viyuela
Claraval
Carmen Bonet Baiget
Galdós
Zacarías González
BCN – Campus, Sants
Albert Blanch Segarra
Madrid and Barcelona are highly ranked in terms of global university quality. Spain is an attractive international and post graduate study location, with Barcelona being one of the top Erasmus student destinations, and home to three Spanish business schools ranked in the world’s top 20.
GSA has also acquired the Nexo Residencias operating business and brand and welcomes a new Spanish team into its business. Nexo Residencias will become the third brand in Europe for GSA alongside The Student Housing Company and Uninest Student Residences.
GSA plans to invest €500 million in Spanish student accommodation over the next five years, bringing much needed student housing stock and high quality new accommodation choices for students living in Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish markets. GSA will continue to strengthen its market-leading position in Europe with major projects underway in the UK, Ireland and Germany and continues to deliver against its long-term strategy for the region.
Nicholas Porter, founder and chairman of GSA said: “We continue to deliver on our rapid European expansion plans, targeting Higher Education markets where there is a substantial supply-demand imbalance. Our brands are carefully targeted towards students, capturing the demand for good quality purpose built student accommodation combined with excellent customer services. We are delighted to welcome many new team members into the GSA family across our global operations.”
Nael Khatoun, Managing Director at Oaktree said: “With the sale of this Spanish student accommodation portfolio, Oaktree concludes the monetization of its UK, Spanish and Irish student housing platform. We are proud of the portfolio, operating business and brand we have built in Spain and are confident the business will continue to prosper in the expert hands of the GSA team.”
About Glasgow School of Art
GSA develops, manages and invests in best-in-class purpose-built student accommodation in locations proximate to world-class universities. GSA’s portfolio of operational, in development and secured future assets totals 20,000 beds. Operational student residences are managed under the brands Uninest Student Residences, Nexo Residencias and The Student Housing Company.
Nicholas Porter has been pioneering the purpose-built student accommodation sector for over 25 years. He founded The UNITE Group plc in the UK in 1991 and grew the company to become a FTSE-250 listed company and the largest owner of student accommodation in the UK. Alongside Nicholas Porter, the GSA management team has also played leading roles at predecessor companies that have defined the industry.
With several long-time colleagues, Porter went on to found GSA in 2007, building the new venture into the leading innovator and developer globally and creating the Urbanest brand in London and Australia, which was subsequently sold in 2014. GSA also launched in Dublin and Tokyo (2014) and moved quickly into the UK, Dubai and China (2015) and more recently into Australia and Germany (2016).
Over this timeframe, the sector has grown from its infancy to an asset class attracting tens of billions of dollars of investment from institutional capital sources attracted to the healthy supply-demand dynamics and the stable income characteristics of the Higher Education sector. As pioneers in the sector’s evolution, GSA’s team has acquired an unrivalled expertise, a formidable track record and a reputation for innovation.
GSA combines industry-leading end-user research, long-standing partnerships with universities, a commitment to operational excellence, a passion for design, a focus on customer service, and an integrated approach to technology to create exceptional communities for students – making a real difference in their lives. Glasgow School of Art
About Oaktree
Oaktree is a leader among global investment managers specializing in alternative investments, with $100 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2017. The firm emphasizes an opportunistic, value-oriented and risk-controlled approach to investments in distressed debt, corporate debt (including high yield debt and senior loans), control investing, convertible securities, real estate and listed equities. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the firm has over 900 employees and offices in 18 cities worldwide. Website:Oaktree
Images courtesy of GSA
GSA Student Accommodation in Spain images / information received 220617
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