As revealed by Business Immo on December 9, Global Student Accommodation and Nuveen Real Estate will acquire Gecina's student residence platform, YouFirst Campus, at the end of a competitive sales process. The group, headed by Beñat Ortega, made the announcement Wednesday in a press release.
The joint venture between Nuveen Real Estate, on behalf of its parent company TIAA, and GSA has signed a purchase agreement based on an implicit valuation of €567 million including transfer taxes for a portfolio of 18 assets in operation (nearly 3,300 beds) and four additional assets of nearly 400 beds under development, to be transferred on delivery in 2025 (€30 million of Capex still to be disbursed at the end of 2023).
The joint venture had entered exclusivity in the summer, overtaking Brookfield AM and Greystar, before pulling back in September, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The deal is expected to be finalised in the first half of 2025, "subject to the lifting of the usual conditions", said Gecina, which operates a €3.5 billion residential portfolio heavily concentrated in Paris.
"The crystallised value will enable us to further consolidate our balance sheet, finance our value-creating tertiary and residential pipeline, and give us additional leeway to finance opportunistic acquisitions while respecting our investment discipline," said Ortega.
This prime student housing portfolio represents 2.5% of its overall portfolio and 11.9% of its residential portfolio, always located in central areas or close to the main French university campuses.
"Gecina, drawing on its expertise and platform, will support the purchaser and its operating partner Yugo in operating the portfolio during the transition period until the end of 2025", the press release said.