Bouwinvest joins Scape & APG’s Australian student accommodation joint venture

Bouwinvest has joined APG in a new A$150m capital commitment to Scape Australia, the Australian student accommodation platform set up by the founders of Scape and Netherland’s largest pension fund asset manager APG in early 2015. Bouwinvest and APG each committed half of the new capital. This follows the A$100m commitment from Chinese financial institution ICBCI in November 2015.

With this latest capital raise, the JV platform has grown to A$460m of equity commitments, giving the offcampus, purpose built student accommodation provider the capacity to undertake projects with a gross development value in excess of A$1 billion. APG remains the largest shareholder with a 50% stake in the JV and also owns a minority stake in Scape’s Australian management company.

The JV presently owns 8 development sites in key student hubs across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane with plans to deliver over 4,000 bedrooms. Scape’s first project in Sydney’s inner city Abercrombie Street, Darlington, a short stroll to the University of Sydney’s new business school will open early next year. Elsewhere, Scape’s 760 bed flagship property in Melbourne CBD at 393 Swanston Street, opposite RMIT University is already under construction with opening planned for the academic year 2018 student intake. In Brisbane, Scape has commenced construction on Scape Vulture Street in the vibrant Southbank student district. That project will deliver close to 800 Scape designer bedrooms by early 2018 as well.

Tjarko Edzes, Regional Manager Asia-Pacific at Bouwinvest: “We are excited to join the Scape Australia JV which we feel is uniquely positioned to benefit from the attractive fundamentals for the student accommodation sector in Australia. We have been impressed by the quality of the portfolio that Scape has been able to secure and that Bouwinvest will get immediate exposure to. We are very pleased to partner with APG and ICBCI in this venture. ”