European Investment Fund, backed by InvestEU, supports housing for up to 3,500 students in Central-Eastern Europe

• Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Baltic States to gain student accommodations after EIF throws its weight behind fund run by 1 Asset Management.
• EIF commitment of €50 million paves way for new housing for up to 3,500 students.
• Pledge, supported by InvestEU programme, marks first EIF-backed fund focused solely on social infrastructure in Central-Eastern Europe.  

Student housing in Central-Eastern Europe is set to expand following a €50 million commitment by the European Investment Fund (EIF) to an initiative run by Lithuanian investment company 1 Asset Management. The EIF contribution, backed by the InvestEU programme, supports the Central and Eastern Europe Student Housing Fund and brings total pledges for it to €112 million. It makes the CEE Student Housing Fund the first in the EIF portfolio that is focused exclusively on social infrastructure in Central-Eastern Europe.

CEE Student Housing Fund will have the capacity to finance the construction of new housing for up to 3,500 students in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The project scope includes the construction of seven or eight buildings in major academic cities over the next five years.

The investments will start immediately as CEE Student Housing Fund has already secured the pipeline, begun financing and the construction of student housing projects to accommodate 1,800 students in the Polish cities of Warsaw, Wrocław and Gdańsk. Four buildings – two in Warsaw, one in Wrocław and one in Gdańsk – are due to be constructed in 2025-2027.

“We are excited to partner with 1 Asset Management to support the development of modern student housing across Central-Eastern Europe,” EIF Chief Executive Marjut Falkstedt told a signature event in Vilnius. ”This is the EIF’s first investment in a social infrastructure fund, and we are glad to be making our contribution in support of European students so that they are better-placed to pursue a brighter future.”

Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People, said: “I welcome this InvestEU-backed EIF investment that will have a tangible impact on social infrastructure, providing accommodation for students and responding to the pressing demand for modern living spaces in major academic cities of Central and Eastern Europe. Investing in youth has a multiplier effect in our economy, driving long-term social and economic growth, as well as quality in job creation.”

1 Asset Management hailed the EIF’s pledge as sign of confidence in the company.

“Having an institutional investor like the EIF adds credibility to our investment strategy for student housing projects,” said Chief Executive Officer Alius Jakubėlis at 1 Asset Management. “This is a confident step forward. With growing demand, strong occupancy rates and increasing rent levels, the student-housing sector serves as a potential hedge for investors during the current economic situation.”

The CEE Student Housing Fund already financed student housing projects for a total of more than 1,500 students in the Lithuanian cities of Vilnius and Kaunas, Latvia’s capital Riga and the Polish city Kraków.

Fund Partner Matas Mockeliūnas said the current priority is to expand such projects in Poland, where the student population totals 1.2 million and needs are the greatest.

“Our focus remains in Poland while central and eastern Europe in general is on our radar,” said Mockeliūnas. “I am excited about the EIF joining this venture and looking forward to transforming the regional student housing infrastructure and addressing the pressing need for modern living spaces for students as well as young professionals. Most public dormitories are outdated and fall short of required living standards, the demand in the region is high and supply is still low.”

Lithuania’s real estate development company Hanner, a strategic investor in the CEE Student Housing Fund, earlier this year announced an investment of €25 million into a student housing project in Wrocław. Hanner plans to invest €50 million in residential projects in Poland between 2024 and 2028.

Arvydas Avulis, Chairman of the Board of Hanner, said he was very pleased with the success of the projects already developed in Poland.

„The success aligns with our strategic development goals and encourages us to invest more in real estate projects in central, as well as southern Europe. We predict that demand for student housing will only increase in the future as the number of young people in cities grows," Avulis said.

Background information

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support Europe’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by helping them access finance. The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments that target this market segment. In this role, the EIF advances key EU policy objectives including competitiveness, growth, human capital and climate action.

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery and growth. It also helps mobilise private investments for the European Union’s policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. The InvestEU programme brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments currently available to support investment in the European Union, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners that will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment..

Investment management company 1 Asset Management manages AUM of over €390 million across several investment strategies: forestland fund, student housing fund, airport hotels fund, private debt and private equity funds. Regarding student housing the company’s target is to create a portfolio of performing assets in major CEE academic cities and increase the number of accommodation units in operation to up to 5,000 within the next five years. Current student housing portfolio includes developments in Vilnius and Kaunas (Lithuania), Riga (Latvia), Kraków (Poland), two developments in Warsaw (to be opened in 2025), Wrocław (to be opened in 2026) and Gdańsk (to be opened in 2027).

Hanner is a leading real estate developer in Lithuania. The company, which started its operations in 1995, has already completed more than 30 real estate projects. Hanner is active not only in Lithuania, but also in other European countries such as Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic, and Poland. Over the years, Hanner has built more than 1 million sqm of commercial properties - offices, shopping centres and warehouses - and more than 8,000 apartments in Lithuania and other European countries. The total value of real estate developed exceeds EUR 1 billion.

Press contacts

EIB Group:

Gabriela Baczyńska, g.baczynska@eib.org, +48 502 355 634

Website: www.eif.org – www.eib.org/press – Press office: +352 4379 21000 – press@eib.org

Kristiina Randmaa, tel.: +352 4379 72894 — k.randmaa@eib.org
Twitter: @eif_eu

1 Asset Management:
Marija Kisieliūtė | Head of brand and communication, email: marija@1am.lt
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1-asset-management
Website: https://1am.lt/