GSA Lands €175M Refinancing Deal For 4 Dublin PBSA Assets

Global Student Accommodation has completed the €175M refinancing of four of its Irish properties with Bank of Ireland Corporate and Commercial.

The purpose-built student accommodation facilities cover New Mill, The Tannery, Ardcairn House and Broadstone Hall, all of which are in Dublin.

“As the largest owner of student housing in the country today, GSA has seen first-hand its evolution,” GSA Global Head of Capital Markets John Jacobs said in a statement. “With some of the world’s leading higher education institutions, and now the only English-speaking country in the EU, Ireland benefits from a strong supply of domestic and international students, all of which underpins the sector’s resilience.”

Since entering the market more than a decade ago, GSA has developed or acquired more than 3,500 beds across Dublin and Cork.

In August 2023, GSA refinanced two Dublin assets owned in a joint venture with long-term partner Harrison Street. Wells Fargo provided the loan, which was then GSA’s first transaction with Wells Fargo in Europe.

The circa €58M refinancing related to the JV’s Yugo Highfield Park and Yugo Dominick Place PBSA assets in Dublin. Yugo Highfield Park opened in 2020 and provides campus-style accommodation with townhouses, cluster apartments and twin rooms. Yugo Dominick Place opened in 2019, providing city centre living with facilities including a gym, games room, roof terrace and cinema room.

Last year, GSA International Head of Real Estate Projects Aaron Bailey told delegates at a Bisnow conference that despite robust demand and a rapidly growing student population in Dublin, market conditions made it difficult for investors to achieve reliable returns from new development.

Bailey said it is up to 60% cheaper to build student accommodation in similarly sized markets elsewhere in Europe. He added that the state had a role to play because more than 40% of the costs are attributable to government taxes, notably value-added tax, compared with zero rating in the UK.

The build standards in Ireland also meant that PBSA developers had to build 10% to 15% larger units than in the UK because of ceiling heights, with floor space up to 40% larger for studios, he said. The larger rooms also raise land costs.

“With all those factors, no wonder costs are so much more,” he said.