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A multimillion-dollar deal will see a national student accommodation provider more than double its market footprint.
Blue Sky Private Real Estate and Goldman Sachs have formed a new joint venture to purchase a majority share in student living property manager The PAD.
The real estate private equity deal will see The PAD manage the joint venture’s student accommodation assets, building towards a $1 billion portfolio of 5,000 to 10,000 purpose-built student accommodation beds across Australia and New Zealand in the coming years.
The PAD has been operating for almost 10 years in Australia and currently manages accommodation for nearly 2,000 students, with new developments underway in Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.
Head of Blue Sky Private Real Estate Adam Vaggelas said the deal was a logical step towards the creation of a market-leading student accommodation platform.
“The PAD has a long history as a specialist student accommodation operator and Blue Sky is already working closely with the team on multiple sites,” he said.
“Their expertise, combined with the newly formed Blue Sky and Goldman Sachs joint venture, takes us a step closer to creating a market-leading platform to service the under-supplied student accommodation market in Australia.”
Damian Haber, founder and chief executive of The PAD, will continue as a joint shareholder and welcomed the venture.
“This is a very positive outcome for The PAD and I am very pleased to partner with two pre-eminent organisations with such a strong focus and commitment to delivering positive student accommodation outcomes for Australia,” said Mr Haber.
There are currently less than seven purpose-built student accommodation beds for every 100 students in Australia, compared with almost 25 in the UK.
[Related: The future of real estate]
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