Round Hill Capital has made its first student accommodation investment in Ireland with the acquisition of a 1 acre development site in Cork with planning permission for 145 beds.

The firm is partnering with NBK Capital on the acquisition and the development, with total costs expected to be around €19M.

Work on the Farranlea Road site will start straight away.

Round Hill and NBK are understood to have earmarked around €100M for purpose-built student accommodation schemes in Cork, Dublin and Galway — including the Farranlea Road project — that will deliver more than 1,200 beds.

The Cork scheme, which is located close to the city centre, will be managed by Nido Student, Round Hill’s operational platform and brand for European student accommodation. 
 
“Thanks to its growing economy, Ireland continues to attract increasing numbers of students, both locally and internationally, and we look forward to playing an integral role as Ireland grows into one of the world’s leading university locations,” said Round Hill Capital (Ireland) Managing Director John Vaudin.

In August, Round Hill opened a Dublin office to lead a planned €1B-plus investment in the local build-to-rent and student accommodation sectors. The company has bought more than €6.5B of European assets since being set up in the U.K. in 2002.

Last month, the company made its first build-to-rent acquisition with the forward purchase of a 216-unit scheme in Norwood, Dublin 9.