Nuveen Real Estate makes Danish investment debut with forward commitment of 390 unit student accommodation in central Copenhagen

Nuveen Real Estate, one of the largest investment managers globally, has agreed to acquire Campus, Copenhagen, a 390-unit student accommodation asset on behalf of its European Cities strategy as part of a forward commitment. The price agreed is c. €100 million, with the project due to be completed in summer 2022.

The acquisition will mark the first housing investment for the European Cities strategy and the first purchase for the firm in Denmark. Once completed the European Cities strategy will own 15 assets in key, gateway cities across Europe, with a total GAV of c. €2 billion.

Campus will comprise c. 16,500 sq m (178,000 sq ft) of residential space/student accommodation across seven floors. It is located in the heart of the city adjacent to the University of Copenhagen’s largest campus and within roughly half a kilometre of the IT University of Copenhagen. In addition to the accommodation, the property will also benefit from a cinema, gym, café and rooftop terraces.

Liz Sworn, Fund Manager, Nuveen Real Estate, says: "Campus offers an exciting opportunity for the European Cities strategy to diversify its portfolio by committing to what will be a high-quality and ideally located asset upon its completion. For our first investment into the housing sector, we chose a project that offered an excellent location as well as strong tenant demand. The Nordics has high levels of its population entering higher education, while the availability of private student accommodation is constrained, particularly for a property with this standard of specification.”

Michael Keogh, Research Director for Nuveen Real Estate, comments: "Housing continues to be a key area of growth across Europe. Although we anticipate some short-term headwinds for the student accommodation sector due to the pandemic, we expect that by 2022, when the project is completed, the market will have adjusted and there will be strong demand. Copenhagen has many of the key attributes that we look for in the student housing market, further buoyed by the financial support that the government provides to EU students. We believe that the strength of the asset’s location, opposite the university campus, and its high-specification finish curated to the evolving needs of the student, will future-proof demand.”

Campus is being developed by Bach Gruppen A/S, one of Denmark's largest privately owned real estate companies focused on real estate development, construction and investments.

Anders Bo Bach, CEO of Bach Gruppen Copenhagen, comments: "Campus forms part of the larger masterplan for the Bryggens Bastion area on Islands Brygge that we have developed over several years. Bryggens Bastion will contain open spaces and a green pathway, vegetation on facades, bicycle routes, two high-rise buildings, a water space with the function of climate protection and built-in bicycle lifts. With Campus we have had a strong emphasis on integrating modern community-driven city-life for students with green awareness. We are delighted that Nuveen Real Estate has chosen to invest in Bryggens Bastion and we look forward to working together on the realisation of the project. We are confident that the international perspective and operational concept Nuveen brings will benefit both the property and Bryggens Bastion in general.”

Nuveen Real Estate’s European Cities strategy forms part of the firm’s global resilient series, which focuses on investing in high-quality assets in ‘future-proof’ cities that are well-positioned in terms of long-term structural trends, including demographic change, urbanisation and technology and in doing so, possibly delivers attractive, risk-adjusted returns to investors.

As part of this series, Nuveen Real Estate also manages an Asia Pacific strategy, as well as four sector-specific strategies in the U.S., which are all underpinned by the same cities-focused approach. Across its global resilient series, the firm manages over US$5 billion of assets in over 35 leading resilient cities globally.

Nuveen Real Estate was advised by Rubik Properties, NIDO Student, Plesner, Niras A/S and Colliers.

Bach Gruppen was advised by Catella Corporate Finance and Accura.