Global Student Accommodation (GSA) and Nuveen Real Estate, on behalf of its parent company TIAA, have successfully completed the acquisition of the YouFirst Campus purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) portfolio from Gecina, for approximately €540m. This follows an agreement signed to acquire the portfolio in December 2024.
The portfolio comprises over 3,700 beds with an 80% weighting to Paris, one of the most popular study destinations for students in Europe. Other assets are located in close proximity to leading universities in Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon and Marseille.
The Parisian market provides access to the second largest student population in Europe and an immediate scalable presence in France. The transaction reinforces GSA’s position as a global leader in real estate asset management within the student housing sector and is a strategic building block for further expansion across Europe’s leading higher education cities.
France presents an exceptional opportunity to deliver much-needed professionally managed accommodation to over 2.8 million students in a market with an average provision rate of just 8%.
“Completing the acquisition of the YouFirst Campus portfolio and entering a new market for GSA is a step forward in achieving our broader strategic growth plans across the leading educational cities in Europe. We are excited to make our mark in France and committed to expanding further into France’s top student cities, as well as those in Italy, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, and the UK.”
James Hunt, Global Head of Real Estate, Global Student Accommodation
The GSA and Nuveen joint venture will capitalise on these compelling sector fundamentals and deploy GSA’s exceptional track record of entering new markets and expertise in asset and investment management, to realise accretive capital value opportunities.
“This acquisition marks a significant milestone for Nuveen as we look to grow our PBSA portfolio across Continental Europe. The French PBSA market, notably in Paris, has been a primary focus for us over the last 12 months given the favourable supply/demand fundamentals so we are delighted to access the market at scale – and intend to further increase our exposure to the French market in the coming months”.
Jasper Gilbey, Head of Housing and Alternatives, Nuveen Real Estate
Yugo, the global student housing brand and current largest student housing operator in Europe, has been appointed to manage the portfolio – marking its debut in the French market and accelerating its growth trajectory. With its experienced leadership team, Yugo will deliver an enhanced offering to students, while unlocking operational efficiencies for the joint venture and adding long-term value.
As part of the transaction, YouFirst Campus’ 30 employees have joined Yugo, ensuring a smooth transition for students and enabling Yugo to retain the knowledge and experience of the team.
“I am delighted to welcome the YouFirst Campus team to Yugo today. Working together we will preserve valuable local knowledge while leveraging Yugo’s global expertise to supercharge Yugo’s offering.
This transaction presents a strategic opportunity for Yugo to elevate the student living experience in France and achieve continued growth for our partners. With our operations spanning 14 countries and over 100,000 customers, we are committed to utilising our strong operational track record and relationships with universities to deliver further efficiencies for the portfolio.”
Joe Persechino, Global Chief Operating Officer, Yugo
TD Securities and Barclays acted as financial advisors to GSA, with Morgan Stanley & Co International acting for Gecina.
