Purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) has been one of the property sector’s star performers over the past decade. Despite the uncertainties about the road to recovery in 2021, investors remain confident about student accommodation as an asset class in Europe. So, given the sector’s tribulations, why are investors convinced it will remain a good bet over the next decade?
PBSA’s fundamental drivers are so strong that investors have remained undeterred, even against the backdrop of a global pandemic. In the first six months of 2020, $10 billion (€8.2 billion) was invested in the sector, according to Real Capital Analytics. One of the largest deals last year was Blackstone snapping up the UK student accommodation provider, iQ, from the Welcome Trust and Goldman Sachs, for £4.66 billion (€5.38 billion).
The UK is no longer the sole focus for investors in the European PBSA sector. Increasingly, they have been attracted to continental Europe’s student housin
