European Student Accommodation Guide
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EUROPEAN STUDENT ACCOMMODATION GUIDE 2019 CONTENTS Welcome 1 Key Themes 3 Educational Landscape 5 Customer Focus 11 Wellbeing 15 Operator Models 19 European Investment Market Summary 23 France 27 Germany 28 Italy 29 Ireland 30 The Netherlands 31 Poland 32 Portugal 33 Spain 34 Sweden 35 WELCOME 2019 The expansion of the global purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) sector continued to gain momentum into 2019, against a back drop of political uncertainty and concerns about global economic cycles reaching a peak. It has been said more and more in recent times that student accommodation and the ‘alternative’ real estate sector were moving out of the shadows. What is evident is that these sectors and in particular PBSA are now mainstream global real estate investment asset classes. The global supply and demand dynamics underpinning the sector are long term and resilient. These are driven by increasing urbanisation, rising levels of social and global mobility, as well as a growing appetite for higher education, driven in part by the continued rise of the middle classes across regions such as India, Asia and western Africa. The PBSA sector continues to be dynamic and adaptable. With demand for beds being driven by basic human need, the sector fundamentals provide a strong level of resilience to wider global economic and political headwinds. In different countries, how these beds are delivered and operated will depend on demand and supply dynamics, as well as cultural nuances, giving rise to different types of operational models across the European and global landscape. With increasing capital allocations to ‘bed backed’ real estate sectors, student accommodation continues to attract a growing and diverse pool of international capital, contributing further to the evolution of the sector. This guide is intended to update our thoughts shared in the 2018 guide, as well as highlight some of the key discussion points across the sector. We hope you find it useful. 1 / Cushman & Wakefield cushmanwakefield.com / 2 KEY THEMES Student accommodation is fundamentally operational real estate and as an owner of these buildings you are required to be product and customer centric. This requires a change in perspective from investors who are now increasingly exposed to the end user of the real estate, alongside their wants and needs. Investors now need to be ensuring that they know Focusing on the value drivers for the students, their target customer segment and have a product parents and universities is important when assessing that is relevant to that group. Not only that, investors the strength of a student accommodation market need to understand how their target customers are or asset. Also having an operational partner who evolving and how they protect their competitive edge understands these touch points is also in the market. Of some 19.6 million students across fundamental to success. Europe with 8% of those being international students, it’s a significant market to get to grips with! On top of these performance drivers lie some bigger, more macro themes, which investors are having to In this guide we focus on understanding the customer become more aware of when operating purpose built segments, which are different per country and even student accommodation. In particular wellbeing and per city. Breaking down the market and conducting mental health awareness are increasingly important, micro analysis is essential to understanding how and accommodation operators are increasingly seen customers make decisions, what cultural nuances to have a duty of care to their customers to provide a need to be considered, and ultimately how price framework for dealing with these issues. sensitive your target customers will be. Technology continues to be a value driver, but is being increasingly seen as a utility, rather than a differentiator. You wouldn’t stay in a building without water, therefore why stay in one without superfast connectivity? Further, value and affordability remain hot topics. 3 / Cushman & Wakefield With accommodation comprising over 90% of the total cost of an undergraduate degree in some KEY THEMES countries, customers are becoming increasingly conscious of assessing cost versus value for money, be that convenience of location, amenity offer or a thriving community. One of the findings of our city analysis is that PBSA accommodation prices do vary depending on micro market dynamics and can be particularly high in markets where PBSA as a TARGET VALUE & concept is limited such as Milan. However a market CUSTOMER AFFORDABILITY such as Paris has a lower average PBSA cost due to the diversity of operators (some being non-for-profit organisations) and more suburban locations. Finally, whilst participation in higher education is not correlated to wider macroeconomic movements, therefore can be considered counter cyclical, higher education is susceptible to political risks and changes in government policy. Therefore, awareness of education funding, grants and subsidies available, TECHNOLOGY WELLBEING and the rhetoric around immigration policies are all key areas to understand when entering new markets. cushmanwakefield.com / 4 Fig. 1:PublicExpenditureonHigherEducationRelativetoGDP in many developed countries. countries. developed in many output to economic contributor asignificant is often sector theuniversity report, As mentionedinour2018 revenues. governmental andincreasing prosperity economic better to contributing global businesses, from investment inward candrive pool, countries talent ahighlyskilledanddiverse having By region. withintheir andremain talentpoolsgrow ensure to together working policy andgovernmental business, withuniversities, aregion, talentto attract which to in seenasamajorway isoften Higher education andsuccess. diversity to economic the battlefor isbecomingfundamental talent beenand isthehighestithasever mobility where economic andpoliticalplans,especiallyinaworld longterm acountry’s to integral are Universities offer. of andvariety quality of interms the charts top universities andEuropean global commodity beasignificant Higher educationcontinuesto 2019 LANDSCAPE EDUCATIONAL 5 / (%) 0 0 Cushman &Wakefield 2 2 1 1 . 0 0 0 5 5 5 2014.Includes partofpost-secondarynon-tertiary education. 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