Ardian and Rockfield have launched a long-term, strategic partnership to invest in core-plus PBSA with a €500m commitment from CBRE IM.
Together, they aim to identify best-in-class assets demonstrating a strong environmental performance to address the supply-demand imbalance throughout Europe – in high-demand areas such as Spain, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany and Portugal.
“We are delighted to partner with Rockfield on this exciting initiative and proud of CBRE IM’s trust and strong support in seeding the strategy.”
Matteo Minardi, Head of Real Estate Italy and Managing Director, Ardian
Rockfield brings a strong PBSA investment track record. In the last ten years, the company has developed and managed 5,000 units across the sector and has strong sourcing capabilities and deep market knowledge.
The Rockfield team will work alongside Ardian to identify investment opportunities and provide asset and property management and development services.
“With one of the largest pots of dry powder capital ready to invest, and over a decade of experience in PBSA markets, our teams are well-positioned to take advantage of the opportunities to meet both demand and sustainability standards.”
Wouter van den Eijnden, CEO, Rockfield
The strategy will harness the expertise of Ardian’s local real estate teams, with deep market knowledge and strong networks across offices in four European markets.
“We are delighted to partner with Rockfield on this exciting initiative and proud of CBRE IM’s trust and strong support in seeding the strategy. There is an unprecedented window of opportunity in investing in European PBSA markets due to a lack of liquidity and structural undersupply in leading university cities, combined with increasing demand predominantly driven by demographics.”
Matteo Minardi, Head of Real Estate in Italy and Managing Director, Ardian
The team will bring technical and financial expertise through all phases of the investment cycle, from deal origination and due diligence to execution and asset management.
“Our strategic partnership with Ardian starts with probably one of the largest pots of dry powder capital ready to invest in student accommodation across the continent. Europe is a growing global education hub with student numbers expected to rise by 10% by 2031.
“With over a decade of experience investing in European PBSA markets, our specialist international investment teams are well-positioned to take advantage of the unprecedented opportunities now available that meet our risk/return and sustainability requirements.”
Juan Acosta, Partner and CIO, Rockfield
Ardian also brings its expertise in sustainability, which uses a proprietary methodology to measure and monitor ESG performance and delivers tangible results.
“The student housing market across continental Europe presents a compelling and resilient growth opportunity, while the investment landscape is fragmented. This strategy enables us to strategically access the market on a pan-European scale, leveraging the combined expertise of Ardian and Rockfield. We are thrilled to partner with them and look forward to deploying capital into this attractive asset class.”
Line Verroken, Senior Director, CBRE IM’s Indirect Private Real Estate Arm
Ardian, Rockfield and CBRE IM were respectively advised by Linklaters, Garrigues and Jones Day.
