Studentbostäder i Norden was founded in 2018 and is the only listed pure student housing player in the Nordics. It manages, develops and acquires student apartments with the aim to fill the significant student housing shortage in the Nordic region. The company went public through a reversed merger of Prime Living in 2020 and targets to grow its property portfolio to 10,000 student apartments by 2025.
Studentbostäder i Norden has grown fast in a very interesting niche, student housing. The student housing market in Sweden is dominated by municipalities and foundations, with only ~20% owned by private companies. That implies, in our view, potential for a niche player to gain market share. Also, by having a Nordic scope, the number of potential deals increase. We expect the development projects to generate good development gains and valuation uplifts, and if Studentbostäder i Norden is able to reach its target of 10,000 student apartments by 2025, we see upside potential to our estimates.
Real estate companies are subject to macro risks, supply of premises risk, supply of capital risk, debt availability risk, regulatory risk, rental income risk, property cost risk and property value risk. Studentbostäder i Norden’s loan-to-value is above the sector average and the interest maturity is below the average, implying that the company is more sensitive to increased interest rates. Other specific risks related to Studentbostäder i Norden are ownership risk, and project risk.