Investment management firms exclusively focused on alternative real assets with approximately $56bn in assets under management – Harrison Street – has announced the $893m sale of 14 student housing assets to affiliates of The Scion Group and a major institutional investor.
The portfolio, amassed over the last decade and spanning eight Harrison Street fund vehicles at 13 universities and 11 states across the US, comprises 8,724 beds located near leading universities, including the University of Arkansas, Texas A&M and University of Missouri – and highlights continued institutional investor interest in the alternatives sector at scale.
“Investors are increasingly seeking access to the alternative real estate sectors given strong fundamentals and demonstrated performance across varying market environments.
“For nearly 20 years, Harrison Street has dedicated its business to demographic-driven assets across the risk-return spectrum including manufacturing core assets to meet growing institutional demand.
“The complexity of this portfolio disposition demonstrates not only the heightened demand for student housing, but also our extensive experience of acquiring/developing individual assets at leading universities, enhancing operational performance, and executing on portfolio sales at scale.
“Harrison Street remains poised to capitalise on the growing demand for alternative real estate and deliver exceptional value to our investors.”
Christopher Merrill, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO, Harrison Street
Since its inception, Harrison Street has invested over $22bn across 410 properties, totaling over 222,000 beds within the PBSA sector throughout North America and Europe. During this same period, the firm sold 212 student housing properties for a gross value of over $8.8bn.
“With a robust portfolio of $56 billion in assets under management, we are continually in the market trying to identify optimal times to monetise our investments.
“A hallmark of Harrison Street is our ability to aggregate strategic portfolios across an attractive mix of product types within our alternative sectors and find various ways to meet the needs of buyers.
“We continue to see growing interest in alternative real estate and are on pace to close over $4bn of dispositions this year from nine distinct funds and over 80 assets across our student, senior, healthcare, storage, digital and infrastructure verticals.”
Ben Mohns, Head of Asset Management – North America, Harrison Street
In October, the company announced the final close of its ninth US opportunistic real estate fund, Harrison Street Real Estate Partners IX, L.P. and its associated co-investment vehicles.
