Allianz and Scape form A$500m student housing JV in Australia
Allianz Real Estate has partnered with accommodation provider Scape Australia to establish Scape Australia JV 2, an Australian dollar–denominated, close-ended fund targeting the purpose-built student accommodation market in Australia.
The fund is targeting to raise A$500 million ($383.7 million). This marks Allianz Real Estate’s entry into the student housing space in Asia Pacific.
Allianz will own 50 percent of the fund, while the remainder will be held by long-term institutional investors, according to an announcement from Allianz Real Estate.
The fund’s strategy is to leverage demand for these accommodation assets across the six tier-one cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Canberra and Adelaide.
The investment is also seen as part of Allianz’s target to expand its presence in the region and hold 5 percent to 10 percent of its total global assets (€56 billion/$68 billion) in Asia Pacific.
Scape has deployed about A$600 million ($460 million) in Scape Australia JV 1 fund across 11 developments over the last three years, with three assets now operating in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane for more than 1,600 PBSA bedrooms.
“Education has become the third-largest export subsector for Australia, and the purpose-built student accommodation market is markedly under-penetrated relative to the United Kingdom and United States,” said Rushabh Desai, Asia Pacific CEO of Allianz Real Estate. “The proportion of students staying in purpose-built student accommodation is likely to grow significantly as the market increasingly appreciates the benefits of a lodging solution that is purpose-built and designed for students. Most of this demand is expected to be concentrated in Australia’s tier-one cities.”
Scape Australia is a developer-operator that oversees all aspects of deal sourcing, design and build, development management, project management, asset management, and investment management.
