Bank Hapoalim Equity and Reality Partners Invest €50 Million in European Student Housing Fund

Bank Hapoalim's investment arm, Poalim Equity, announced a joint investment with Reality Partners, a real estate investment company from the Reality fund group, in the European investment fund Alea Living One. Together, they will acquire approximately 30% of the shares in Alea's fund management company and invest around €50 million as anchor investors in the new fund. Alea Living One focuses on institutional student housing and alternative residential complexes across Europe.

Reality Partners had previously announced in March the establishment of a company to acquire minority stakes in international real estate fund management firms, allocating 200 million shekels for such investments. Their first deal was acquiring 30% of the management company of Prisma Investment, founded by Itzik Nahum. Alea, founded in 2018 by Roy Shoaf, Pedro Antunes, and Roy Ashkelira, currently develops about 2,500 housing units in Lisbon and Porto and is expanding into Spain and Poland.

The fund, managed by Liat Hazut, targets investments in student and alternative housing in Portugal, Spain, and Poland. It aims to raise between €150 million and €200 million and has already closed a first round of about €60 million with founders and anchor investors. Currently, up to 10% of students in these countries live in dormitories, but projections estimate a shortage of 600,000 student beds by 2030 in these markets.