An international student accommodation provider has acquired five student accommodation complexes in Dublin, including the Trinity-leased Kavanagh Court, in a €400 million deal.
The Irish Times reported today that 1,971 beds in Ardcairn House, New Mill, The Tannery, Broadstone Hall and Kavanagh Court are now under the ownership of the Global Student Accommodation Group.
The complexes primarily serve students in Trinity, the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Technological University Dublin’s Grangegorman campus and University College Dublin.
Global Student Accommodation Group and its joint venture partner Harrison Street are also set to deliver a further 1,300 student beds in Dublin and Cork, according to the Irish Times.
Global Student Accommodation Group Chair Nicholas Porter told the Irish Times: “This transaction underpins GSA’s global growth strategy and our plans for expansion in the region, helping to generate increased opportunity and value for our investors and partners.”
Rob Mathias, the senior managing director and head of international business at Harrison Street, said: “GSA has a deep familiarity with these properties, and we are pleased to build on our strong partnership with them as we continue to identify attractive investment opportunities on behalf of our limited partners.”
More than 95 per cent of Dublin’s purpose-built student accommodation developed since 2016 is run by private companies, according to Government figures.
In 2016, a national strategy was launched to address the shortage of purpose-built student accommodation in Ireland. Last year, The University Times reported that less than seven per cent of purpose-built student accommodation developed in Dublin since then was available for less than €840 per month.
Of the student accommodation complexes developed in the last three years, only two – LIV Student accommodation on Church St and Swuite student accommodation in Grangegorman – were then advertising student accommodation for less than €800 per month. Both companies offer twin rooms for €780 monthly.
At the time, speaking to The University Times, Laura Beston, the President of Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union, called the figures “unacceptable”.
“Those statistics are incredibly worrying”, she said. “This is putting unnecessary boundaries in place for students.”
“If we care about access to education as a country, we should be doing all we can to remove those barriers”, she added.
