CBRE Investment Management Expands into Italian Living Sector with Milan PBSA Acquisition

CBRE Investment Management (“CBRE IM”), on behalf of a separate account client, has acquired, in an off-market deal, a brand-new student housing campus in Milan, Italy.

The campus, developed and constructed by Techbau, one of the leading developers in the Italian market, is the second largest in Italy and provides 928 rooms (1,075 beds). The scheme opened in September 2024 under the management of CampusX, a renowned PBSA and hybrid hospitality operator in the Italian market, which currently manages 10 buildings all over the country. As well as large internal gardens, the asset features several high-quality facilities, including a gym, swimming pool, a restaurant, sports fields, cafeteria and games room.

The asset is located in Novate Milanese, close to the Bovisa District – a rapidly changing district area that is part of the 2030 regeneration plan for Milan - and MIND – the Milano Innovation District, a mixed-use urban redevelopment project. The asset is just 500 meters from the train station Milano Quarto Oggiaro, which provides direct access in just four minutes to the Politecnico di Milano public university, and the Milan city centre in 15 mins.

The asset is targeting BREEAM Excellent and is also equipped with heat pumps and solar panels.

Sandro Campora, Country Manager Italy at CBRE IM, said: “The PBSA is a sector with a huge growth potential in Italy, given the substantial imbalance between supply and demand for modern student accommodation in Milan and the rest of Italy. The existing stock reflects just 6% of the city’s total student population. Milan is Italy’s number one city in terms of university students with more than 200,000 students, of which 49% require off-site accommodation. As well as meeting significant demand for PBSA in Milan, this transaction is in line with the strategy for our investor – to expand into Italy’s living sector via sustainable assets with robust environmental credentials and in key strategic locations.

The Novate deal marks CBRE IM’s second acquisition in this sector in Italy. We are committed to further growth in the PBSA space with additional acquisitions. Our successful partnership with Techbau and CampusX, both of whom we have worked with for many years, has proven effective and we are keen to replicate this in future opportunities.”

About CBRE Investment Management

CBRE Investment Management is a leading global real assets investment management firm with $148.3 billion in assets under management* as of September 30, 2024, operating in more than 30 offices and 20 countries around the world. Through its investor-operator culture, the firm seeks to deliver sustainable investment solutions across real assets categories, geographies, risk profiles and execution formats so that its clients, people and communities thrive. 

CBRE Investment Management is an independently operated affiliate of CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2023 revenue). The company has more than 130,000 employees (including Turner & Townsend employees) serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE Investment Management harnesses CBRE’s data and market insights, investment sourcing and other resources for the benefit of its clients. For more information, please visit www.cbreim.com.

*Assets under management (AUM) refers to the fair market value of real assets-related investments with respect to which CBRE Investment Management provides, on a global basis, oversight, investment management services and other advice and which generally consist of investments in real assets; equity in funds and joint ventures; securities portfolios; operating companies and real assets-related loans. This AUM is intended principally to reflect the extent of CBRE Investment Management’s presence in the global real assets market, and its calculation of AUM may differ from the calculations of other asset managers and from its calculation of regulatory assets under management for purposes of certain regulatory filings.