The properties were sold by US investment manager EQT Real Estate. Selling agent Cushman and Wakefield was quoting a guide price in excess of €115m for the pair of units.
The Dublin property, trading as Mezzino at Mayor Square in the International Financial Services Centre, provides 290 bedspaces. It is located adjacent to the National College of Ireland and is a short walk to Trinity College Dublin.
The Galway facility, known as Cúirt Na Coiribe, has 434 bedspaces and is located close to the University of Galway and Galway city centre. Built by local firm Kenny Developments in 2004, this premises extends to 160,422 sqft and sits on a 1.4-hectare site. Kenny Developments sold it some years ago.
It also comes with full planning permission for an additional 515 beds which would bring it to 920 net beds upon completion. That permission expires in January, however, so the new owners would have to make secure an extension to it or make a new submission.
In December last year, Greystar bought the Point Campus in Dublin. It’s Ireland’s largest off-campus student scheme, with almost 1,000 beds.
The latest acquisitions make the group one of the largest purpose-built student accommodation operators in Ireland.
All the Irish properties will operate under Canvas, Greystar’s pan-European brand for student and young professional housing that it launched in 2021.
Canvas is expanding across Europe and now includes 32 assets in seven countries, comprising more than 13,500 beds, including those in its development pipeline.
“Our growth in Ireland reflects Greystar’s long-term strategy to build scale and quality in key European markets like Ireland,” Claire Solon, managing director for Greystar Ireland, said.
These assets establish a national platform for student housing in Ireland
She added: “The acquisition of Mayor Square and Cúirt na Coiribe represents a step change in our expansion, with the purchase of the latter marking our first investment outside Dublin.
“Together with Point Campus, these assets establish a national platform for student housing in Ireland,” she said.
Greystar is also planning to upgrade the two new accommodation units in its Dublin and Galway.
It will undertake works at the Mayor Square property to raise energy ratings. At Cúirt na Coiribe, it will engage in a multi-million euro refurbishment programme that it said will enhance amenities, upgrade lifts and modernise living spaces.
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