EQT Exeter completes Spanish student housing portfolio sale to Azora

• Since the creation of the portfolio in May 2021, it has grown from two assets with 1,500 beds to 12 assets with 4,100 beds
  
  
• Transaction marks the first sale of EQT Exeter’s living assets in Spain, a market experiencing continued growth potential
  
  
• Azora reenters the Spanish purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) market, a sector it first pioneered over a decade ago
  
  
• Azora plans to leverage the acquisition to develop a larger Southern European portfolio aiming for approximately 10,000 beds

EQT Exeter, a leading global real estate investment manager, is pleased to announce that the EQT Real Estate II fund (“EQT Exeter”) has closed the sale of a portfolio comprising 12 student housing assets in nine cities across Spain to an Azora PBSA managed vehicle.

In May 2021, EQT Exeter entered a joint venture with developer Grupo Moraval to create a premier portfolio of purpose-built student accommodation assets across Spain, totaling approximately 1,500 beds. The portfolio was designed to target a primarily domestic student profile, with a high level of service and amenity offering at an affordable price point.

Since then, leveraging the expertise of its local team, EQT Exeter has expanded the portfolio to include 12 assets with approximately 4,100 beds across major cities, including Madrid and Barcelona, as well as in key secondary higher education hubs such as Seville, Málaga and Granada. It became the fourth largest student housing portfolio in Spain just two years into the joint venture. The portfolio is characterized by its high standards, with several buildings having achieved LEED Platinum, the first student assets in Europe to receive this certification.

Tom Livelli, Partner and Head of Living Strategies, Europe at EQT Exeter, said: "This transaction underscores the strong and growing demand for high-quality student housing in Europe, supported by robust fundamentals and resilient market dynamics. Spain remains a top investment destination, with strong economic growth and a structural undersupply of student housing. This exceptional portfolio showcases EQT’s integrated investment, development, and operational expertise, and we remain committed to expanding our presence in the European living sector."

Carlos Molero Sánchez de la Blanca, Managing Director, EQT Exeter, said, “We are excited to have completed the sale of our first living assets in Spain, an excellent example of EQT Exeter’s ‘local with locals’ approach to investing in thematic trends. Our selective aggregation strategy, combined with a deep understanding of the specific needs of students and a focus on the operational and design aspects of each building, have allowed us to achieve significant scale and deliver a highly resilient, downside-protected portfolio with a high social impact.”

Alvaro Soto de Scals, CEO, Grupo Moraval, commented: “It has been a pleasure to have contributed to the success of our JV with EQT Exeter, having sourced and managed the build-out of this platform as planned. The portfolio is built with state-of-the-art technology and quality; with sustainability a core element for both Group Moraval and EQT Exeter.”

José Alonso, Partner, Azora, added: “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."

The acquisition signifies Azora's return to the student housing sector, a market it led over a decade ago by establishing the largest PBSA portfolio in continental Europe, which was sold in 2017. Azora intends to use this newly acquired platform as a foundation to expand its new PBSA vehicle, targeting approximately 10,000 beds in key Southern European locations.

EQT Exeter was advised by Linklaters and Azora was advised by CBRE Investment Bank and Garrigues.

• Transaction is the firm's third acquisition in Boston in the last 12 months.
• The acquired building has a state-of-the-art design, LEED Gold certification, and is
located in the heart of the Back Bay, Boston's most exclusive residential and office area.
• The asset is 81% leased to blue chip firms such as Alo and Google, which has the largest
shop in New England.

Madrid, October 16, 2024 – Azora has completed the purchase of a modern office building in Boston,
located at 149 Newbury Street, for $101 million. This "trophy" mixed-use building offers 45,495
rentable square feet for offices and luxury retail spaces across five floors. The asset features cuttingedge design with LEED Gold certification and is situated along the Newbury Street commercial
corridor, surrounded by luxury shops and restaurants in Boston's exclusive Back Bay neighborhood.

The building is 81% leased to top-tier tenants. The ground floor is fully leased to two major tenants:
Google, which operates its first high-tech store in New England, and Alo, an exclusive sportswear
tenant.

Only the third floor of the asset is available to let and Azora plans to convert its 9,586 sq ft into ‘ready
to move in’ offices, given the demand in the area for this type of space.

As Ignacio Gil-Casares, Managing Partner of Azora Exan, comments: “We are pleased to have
acquired such a high-quality asset, which aligns with the strategy we began to implement in the US in
[month] last year. We continue to believe in the value of trophy office assets in major U.S. cities, and
149 Newbury is the perfect example, combining an excellent location, high occupancy by top-tier
tenants, and the potential to achieve higher returns by leasing the remaining space through the
creation of speculative spaces. We are confident in the potential value generation for this asset in the
short to medium term."

Azora entered the U.S. market through its partnership with Exan, establishing Azora Exan in December
2021. Currently, Azora Exan manages office, industrial, retail, and residential assets in the U.S. valued
at $1.7 billion. The acquisition of this new office building marks the third transaction of its kind in the
Boston market over the past 12 months, having acquired 801 Boylston Street for $39m and 7 Post
Office Square for $41m.

Additionally, Azora has recently agreed with Advenir, a U.S. real estate investment and management
company, to create a strategic alliance aimed at managing and developing affordable rental housing
in key U.S. markets. This alliance, which starts with over $3 billion and 14,000 units under
management, has an investment target exceeding $3 billion.

• Unified Firm Will Invest Heavily in U.S. Multi-Family and Single-Family Build-To-Rent
• Azora is a $11 Billion AUM alternative investment management firm with a proven 20-year investment track record across diverse asset classes including residential, hospitality, logistics, and renewable energy.
• Advenir is a national leader in traditional multifamily and purpose built, single-family home rental communities with nearly $5 Billion invested in muti-family and single-family rental communities since its inception in 1996, representing today over $3Bn assets under management across a portfolio of more than 14,700 rental units owned or under development in 10 U.S. states.

Miami, FL, and Madrid, Spain – October 3, 2024 – Azora, a Spain-based global investment firm, and Advenir, a US-based real estate investment and management corporation, are pleased to announce a new strategic partnership aimed at creating attainable rental housing in key markets across the US. This $3Bn+ partnership comes at a strategic time where a housing shortage combined with a challenging capital markets environment has created an opportunity for compelling investment in both development and acquisitions in the housing space. The deal creates a new, combined corporation, Advenir Azora, that will be a vertically integrated platform spanning acquisition, development, asset management, property management, and fund services capabilities, ensuring a full-spectrum approach to investor value creation and resident well-being.

“Investing in and with Advenir is a further expression of Azora’s long-term conviction to help create quality multi-family and single-family rental homes in the US,” said Mr. Fernando Pérez-Hickman, Managing Partner and Head of Azora America. "More than just good business, this endeavor will help countless families. Advenir’s operational excellence, local expertise, and similar principles make them an ideal partner as we continue to seek value in investment opportunities across the United States.”

Mr. Stephen Vecchitto, CEO and Founder of Advenir, remarked, “The housing shortage in America is more than 5 million homes, exacerbating the gap between a rising cost of ownership vs. more attainable costs of renting. Bringing together the global, financial power, residential knowledge and credibility to attract institutional capital of a company like Azora with Advenir’s deep expertise and experience in real estate development and management, will help us achieve our goal of growing our current portfolio and pipeline of 4,700 purpose-built single-family residences to 10,000 units, while expanding our ability to acquire existing properties. We believe the time is now to double-down on residential living, and our combined company is poised to take advantage of this market dislocation.”

Azora Advenir is expected to deploy more than $3 billion over the next five years in hopes of developing at least 10,000 new single-family rental homes and acquiring 5,000 existing units.

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