Spain: PGGM Infrastructure Fund has signed an agreement to acquire Residencias de Estudiantes en España (RESA) for an undisclosed sum.
PGGM is buying the firm from Greystar, AXA IM Alts, and CBRE Investment Management.
RESA is one of the largest student accommodation platforms in Spain and has approximately 11,200 beds in 21 key student cities, including Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, with more planned.
PGGM already has a 60 per cent stake in UPP, a UK-based student accommodation and infrastructure provider.
Stuart Bousfield, investment director at PGGM Infrastructure, said: “RESA is Spain’s leading student accommodation portfolio, with more than 30 years of track record, an excellent management team in place and considerable growth potential in one of Europe’s most undersupplied student housing markets. It will provide stable and inflation-linked returns to our clients like pension fund PFZW.”
Juan Manuel Acosta, managing director (Spain) at Greystar, said: “We entered the Spanish residential real estate market in 2017 with the acquisition of RESA. Alongside our partners, we have added significant value and grown the portfolio to the multi-award-winning sustainable portfolio it is today. Moving forward, we will continue to grow our portfolio of residential and student housing assets in southern Europe via discretionary capital and other ventures.”
The deal comes after a structured process involving a large number of potential buyers, and is conditional upon obtaining merger clearance approvals from the Spanish Antitrust Authorities.
PGGM is a Dutch-based not-for-profit cooperative pension fund service provider and has managed long-term pension capital of €241 billion worldwide.
