• Pan-European development platform has acquired two vacant office buildings in Paris in partnership with French real estate investment manager Eternam
• Situated in Paris’ western ring, the assets represent prime PBSA redevelopment opportunities
• The two projects will deliver over 500 student housing units and form part of Assembly’s wider strategy to reposition underutilised urban assets into high-quality real estate

Assembly, the pan-European development platform of investment manager MARK Capital, and the French real estate investment manager Eternam, are to repurpose two obsolete office buildings in Issy-les-Moulineaux and Boulogne-Billancourt.

The former office buildings, occupying prime student housing locations within Paris’ western ring, will be transformed into high-quality Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA). Together, the two projects are set to deliver over 500 student and young professional beds and contribute to alleviating the acute student accommodation shortage in the Paris region. The acquisitions form part of Assembly and Eternam’s wider strategy to reposition outdated and undermanaged urban real estate into highly investable, best-in-class assets.

In Issy-les-Moulineaux, the existing office building will be replaced with a newly built 7,000 sqm scheme comprising 300+ student units, alongside ground-floor retail amenities. In Boulogne-Billancourt, a 5,000 sqm office structure will be restructured to accommodate 200+ student housing units, also complemented by retail space.

A recent survey of European investors in operational real estate conducted by Savills found PBSA has become the most sought-after sector for investment, with 62% of respondents intending to target the sector over the next three years.
Established in 2018, Assembly has managed and executed close to €3bn of projects to date, representing approximately 135,000 sq. m. of commercial and residential floorspace.

Assembly recently announced the expansion of its strategy to include the purpose-built student accommodation and logistics sectors. The development platform is looking to grow its pipeline further, leveraging third-party capital.

Now fully integrated into MARK Capital Management, Assembly services both clients of MARK and a growing roster of private and institutional capital partners outside of MARK-advised funds.

In line with ambitious growth plans announced earlier this year, Assembly is rapidly scaling across Europe to deliver a diversified pipeline spanning residential, logistics, student housing, and mixed-use projects.

Jean-Charles Equoy, CEO, Assembly, said: “These projects reflect our conviction in the student housing sector as a resilient and countercyclical asset class, particularly in supply-constrained prime urban locations anchored by top-tier educational institutions.

“At the same time, they are indicative of Assembly’s wider strategy: revitalising under-utilised urban assets into highly investable real estate in Europe’s most sought-after sectors and locations.”

Eternam is a regulated management company, approved and supervised by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) in France, operating across the entire real estate and hospitality value chain: real estate investment funds, club deals, SCPI allocation advisory, and residential block investments. Backed by a team of 26 professionals, Eternam has strong expertise in selecting and structuring transactions in commercial real estate and hospitality. The company manages more than 14 collective funds and 40 club deals, representing over €1.4 billion in assets under management.

Frédéric Maxwell, Deputy Managing Director of ETERNAM, said: “We strive to mobilize private capital for projects to transform obsolete buildings into modern student residences, in order to meet a strong social need. This fits in perfectly with the strategy of the Solstice fund, which has now made its third acquisition and will continue to benefit from a market that is generating opportunities.”