Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, and Rockfield, a vertically-integrated student housing platform, announce the acquisition of Cristóbal de Moura, a 347-bed student accommodation asset in Barcelona. This marks Ardian and Rockfield’s first joint acquisition in Spain.

The property was sold by Henderson Park, the international private equity real estate firm, and Hines, the international real estate firm, who developed the state-of-the-art facility having identified the highly attractive supply and demand dynamics in Barcelona’s student accommodation sector.

This is the second investment through Ardian and Rockfield’s pan-European strategy dedicated to Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA), which launched in October 2024, and follows the acquisition of a student residence in Florence, announced in November 2024.

The acquisition of Cristóbal de Moura aligns with the core-plus focus of Ardian and Rockfield’s pan-European strategy, which aims to create value by enhancing assets’ operational performance and contributing to CO2 emission reductions in line with the Paris Agreement.  The strategy has an active pipeline across France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, with dry powder of ca. €800 million, and will be increasing its investor commitments throughout 2025.

Cristóbal de Moura benefits from an excellent location within 22@, Barcelona’s innovation district. The asset offers a modern living experience for students with premium amenities, including a cinema room, gym, yoga studio, swimming pool and study spaces. This acquisition reinforces Ardian and Rockfield´s commitment to providing high-quality student accommodation in key European markets.

Cristóbal de Moura consists of a fully occupied 347-bed student accommodation building alongside a c.3,600 sqm timber office building. Henderson Park and Hines acquired the site in 2019 and launched construction in 2021. The property, which operates under Hines’s Aparto brand, opened to students in January 2024 and has maintained strong occupancy levels since launch, reflecting robust demand in Barcelona’s growing student housing sector.

“We are proud that one of the first acquisitions within our pan-European PBSA strategy has been completed in Spain. It is a key market for us and Barcelona, with its dynamism and high student demand combined with a limited supply of quality accommodation, represents an attractive investment opportunity. This property perfectly aligns with our investment objectives, meeting the highest international standards in terms of quality and sustainability.” Edmund Eggins, Managing Director Real Estate, Ardian

“Acquiring a fully occupied asset in a supply-constrained and high-demand market like Barcelona is in-keeping with our strategy of expanding our PBSA platform across Europe. This investment reflects our strong conviction in the long-term fundamentals of the PBSA sector. We look forward to further strengthening our position in the Spanish market and setting new benchmarks for excellence in student living.” Josep Franch Bellmunt, Investment Director – Southern Europe, Rockfield

“We initiated the development journey of Cristóbal de Moura in 2018 identifying a demand for high quality purpose-built student accommodation both from student occupiers and strategic investors looking to invest in latest generation PBSA assets.  Delivered amid the headwinds of COVID and construction costs inflation, Cristóbal de Moura is a successful answer to these trends; we are confident it will continue to deliver optimal performance in the hand of its new owners.” Christophe Kuhbier, Head of Investments – Europe, Henderson Park

Ardian and Rockfield were assisted by CBRE as commercial and technical advisor, Garrigues and Linklaters as legal and tax advisor, and PwC as financial advisor.

Henderson Park and Hines were assisted by Cushman & Wakefield as commercial advisor, Ashurst as legal and tax advisor, and Deloitte as financial advisor.