"After closely monitoring the market for several years, we believe now is the ideal time to reenter the PBSA sector in order to provide solutions to the current shortage of student housing in Spain and other Southern European countries. The platform established by EQT. Exeter and Grupo Moraval aligns with the high standards of our PBSA vehicle and will serve as the foundation for our expansion in Southern Europe."
Student Housing
As pioneers in the rented residential housing segment in Spain, Azora recognized an opportunity to address the significant shortage in the provision of purpose-built accommodation for students in the country.
In 2011, Azora entered the market by establishing a dedicated investment platform and following this up with the acquisition of RESA, a student accommodation manager.
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Case Studies
StepHouse arrives with an innovative approach to university living.
Our strategies
Academic Year (Long Stay)
We offer a long-stay accommodation model for students throughout the full academic year, designed to ensure sustained occupancy. Our proposal combines recurring demand, driven by the stability of the university calendar, with a comprehensive residential experience that fosters community building and resident loyalty.
This approach enables the alignment of a long-term, investment-oriented strategy, optimizing both profitability and the quality of the real estate asset.
Groups (Mid Stay)
As a complement to our strategy, we have developed a dedicated model focused on academic groups, allowing us to maximize occupancy during specific periods of the year and diversify demand sources. This model is based on mid-term stays, contracted through a centralized booking process.
We work with groups linked to the academic environment. The flexibility of this approach allows us to adapt the customer mix according to seasonality, optimizing asset performance and reinforcing long-term stability.
Cartera de inversión
StepHouse
11 Residences 4.400 Beds
StepHouse
11 Residences 4.400 Beds
Azora is returning to the student accommodation sector, a market it led more than a decade ago with the creation of the largest PBSA portfolio in continental Europe, which was sold in 2017. The company now intends to use this new platform, Stephouse, as the foundation for the expansion of its new PBSA vehicle, with the goal of reaching approximately 10,000 beds in key locations across Southern Europe.
Realized Portfolios
Resa / Siresa / Encampus
As pioneers in the rented residential housing segment in Spain, Azora recognized an opportunity to address the significant shortage in the provision of purpose-built accommodation for students in the country. In 2011, Azora entered the market by establishing a dedicated investment platform and following this up with the acquisition of RESA, a student accommodation manager. At the time, the company, which was founded in 1992, had 26 residences under management across Spain’s largest university cities. To optimize our investment and simplify the structure of the business, we also acquired the portfolio of residences under management, to bring both management and ownership under one roof.
We increased the size of RESA’s portfolio of residences to a total of 36 open premises and a smart pipeline of more than 9,200 beds, while improving the quality of services offered to tenants. These high-quality living spaces were developed and managed through agreements with the country’s leading public universities. By the time Azora exited its student housing platform with its sale to a group of institutional investors including Greystar, AXA IM and CBRE in 2017, RESA had the largest student housing portfolio in Continental Europe. Not only that but it was regarded as Spain’s premier student accommodation provider with over 9,200 beds in 19 cities including significant presences in the prime markets of Madrid and Barcelona.
The sale represented at the time the largest transaction to take place in student housing on the Iberian Peninsula.
32
Student Residences
9,300+
Beds
