DLA Piper has advised  property-investment-management firm Harrison Street on its joint-venture partnership with CA Ventures to develop and acquire purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) assets across Ireland. 

The first project, with 623 en suite bedrooms, is in Cork, at the site of the former Coca Cola bottling plant on Carrigrohane Road.

DLA Piper provided finance, corporate, property  and construction advice on the project, across Ireland, the UK, Luxembourg and the US.

Institutional interest

Head of finance in Ireland, Conor Houlihan, said: “PBSA is an established asset class in Ireland, where we expect to see continued opportunities and institutional interest, given that supply continues to lag demand.”

He added that, though this was an Irish property deal, the locations and requirements of the various parties brought a number of other jurisdictions into scope. Houlihan led the transaction team in Ireland, alongside the firm’s property chief, Graham Quinn.

They were supported by legal directors Liam Mills (finance) and Jeremy Curran (construction), senior associates Elaine Cummins (finance) and Steven Duggan (corporate) and associate Lorcan Doocey (real estate).