International Campus launches 1 billion euro student housing fund

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Student housing company International Campus, insurer Allianz (ALVG.DE) and a European investor represented by U.S. real estate company CBRE (CBG.N) have launched a 1 billion euro (839.57 million pounds) fund to invest in pan-European student housing, in a sign of continued growth in this market.

Allianz said its investment in the fund was 175 million euros. CBRE did not disclose the name of its investor or the size of the investment.

Over the last year, a growing number of global investors have tapped into Germany's student housing market, attracted by yields not available elsewhere and driven by the country's popularity among international students and a lack of small apartments.

International Campus, which operates around 7,200 student housing apartments in Germany and the Netherlands, said in a statement on Wednesday that the initial investment portfolio comprised four fully rented buildings, as well as four ongoing projects.

The investors declined to disclose the portfolio's purchase price, International Campus said. It also said that the fund, called THE FIZZ Student Housing Fund S.C.S., was preparing further acquisitions.

The Luxemburg-registered fund has a 70 percent equity ratio and will run for an initial duration of 10 years, the statement said.

(Reporting by Tina Bellon; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Jane Merriman)