CA Ventures launches in Europe

CA Ventures, the $10.2 billion Chicago-based real estate investment company, has entered the European market with the commencement of an expected £500 million ($624 million) per annum investment in the development of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

CA Ventures is a vertically integrated real estate investment firm with comprehensive in-house development, asset management and property management capabilities. CA’s investments in U.S. student housing have played a critical role in the firm’s success. CA has delivered some 50,000 beds in North America. CA has plans to invest £500 million ($624 million) a year in the United Kingdom and Ireland by 2021. CA Ventures will also be entering other European markets with commitments in its development pipeline of £300 million ($374 million) a year in The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Italy.

CA is targeting £1.3 billion ($1.6 billion) in ground-up development starts in Europe over the next three years.

As part of the announcement, CA Ventures has unveiled three PBSA development schemes, backed by capital partner PGIM Real Estate through its European real estate value-add debt platform and senior debt through Investec, in the United Kingdom totaling 888 beds. The state-of-the-art facilities, which are expected to be ready for the 2021/2022 academic year, are:

• Glasgow: the development will contain 422 beds and is situated next to the University of Strathclyde and within walking distance of Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of Glasgow
• Edinburgh: the development will contain 216 beds and is accessible to both Edinburgh Napier University and the University of Edinburgh
• Sheffield: the development will contain 250 beds, is adjacent to Sheffield University and is within walking distance of Sheffield Hallam University

CA Ventures immediate pipeline also includes 257 beds in Dublin; 251 beds in Belfast, Ireland; and further schemes in Bristol, York and Edinburgh, U.K.; all projects will be delivered for the 2021/2022 academic year.

Currently, demand for PBSA in the United Kingdom significantly outweighs supply, where the current student to bed ratio is 3:1, and there is an expected increase in student numbers of 15 percent between now and 2030.

The proposed developments are in areas that are particularly undersupplied, with Edinburgh Council identifying that PBSA is required to relieve pressure from the private rental market. The U.K. government has also recently added to the attraction of the United Kingdom as a market for overseas students with its offer to extend residency rights post-graduation to two years from the current four months.

Carlo Matta, head of Europe, CA Ventures said, “We are very pleased to announce the start of our first development schemes in Europe. Outside of the United States, the United Kingdom is the largest destination for international students but remains severely undersupplied with purpose-built student accommodations. The U.K. government’s recent extension to residency rights for international students, post-graduation, is a great signal to the global student community. We see a significant opportunity in the United Kingdom, Ireland and continental Europe, to deliver a modern, high-quality student living experience. Limited supply, increasing obsolescence of older product and growing university enrolment has created a very favorable supply/demand dynamic, and we at CA Ventures have invested heavily in building out a development and property management infrastructure to execute our long-term growth plan. Across commercial real estate product types, we feel that student accommodation offers some of the best risk-adjusted returns given the ability to satisfy demand from both domestic and international students.”