Singapore's GIC joins GSA in German student housing deal

Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and global student accommodation specialists GSA earlier this month announced a partnership to capitalise on growth opportunities in the German student accommodation market.

GIC has partnered up with the Dubai-based GSA to buy a portfolio of close to 1,000 student beds, comprising properties in Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Munster and Dresden as well as a pipeline of 1,500 beds, which will be expanded through investments, developments and in working with local property companies.

Germany, boasting Europe’s largest student market, presents a significant opportunity for GSA’s planned expansion in continental Europe, and the company has set an initial target of opening 10,000 beds. The partnership said it will target Germany’s major university cities such as Cologne, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Frankfurt.

Madeleine Cosgrave, regional head for Europe at GIC Real Estate, said the German student-housing market was at an “early stage of growth”. She added: “We see good opportunities for consolidation, as the market is highly fragmented.”

The properties will be operated under the banner of GSA’s Uninest student residences brand, which provides specialist management – including everything from viewing to booking to billing, high-speed internet provision and on-site community management.

GSA also owns and operates student accommodation in Australia, China, Dubai, Ireland, Japan and Britain. This is its first venture into Germany.

“Purpose-built and managed student accommodation is a completely new concept for the German rental market, designed to meet the needs of both millennial students and also universities who seek to enhance the attraction of their institutions,” the companies said.

The deal was announced just days after GIC and GSA also inked a deal to buy a portfolio of student beds in the UK in a joint venture partnership. In what was the biggest student accomodation deal in the UK this year, the joint venture bought a 7,150-bed student accomodation portfolio from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management.