Key investors and their strategies in the expansion of European student housing investment

The aim of this paper is to understand the expansion process of investment into Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) in Europe by examining transformations in student housing investment landscapes and uncovering the profiles and strategies of key investors between 2010 and 2020. Using data from Real Capital Analytics, trends in capital structures and profiles of PBSA investors are identified. Investors driving these trends are scrutinised in terms of their investment timelines, locations, hold periods and strategies of portfolio diversification. Furthermore, in-depth interviews with property analysts, PBSA investors, and developers substantiate the quantitative analysis. The empirical results show that Private Equity entered the European PBSA market, starting with the UK, when the yield premium post-GFC justified the perceived risk. Equity funds typically hold their portfolios for around five years and trade counter-cyclically with institutions such as pension funds. PBSA specialists, mainly REITs, have accumulated substantial portfolios, and the REIT structure is well-suited to the steady income which student rents should provide, but their lack of diversification leaves them vulnerable to changes in student demographics and accommodation requirements

Prioritizing behaviour alongside regulations in Amsterdam’s planning projects

Project-specific actor constellations and relationships shape contemporary planning practice. The existing literature predominantly focuses on the flexibility of regulations in planning projects and largely ignores the behaviour of involved governance actors. Here, we argue that the nuances of relationship dynamics between public and private sector actors deserve increased scrutiny. Based on in-depth interviews with public planners and project managers, and private developers and investors involved in Amsterdam’s urban development, and a case study of a major redevelopment project, we have coined a new term: ‘behavioural flexibility’. Behavioural flexibility highlights how relationships extensively affect how actors trust and communicate with one another, and how their goals align. Combined, these factors strongly impact planning outcomes as they determine how actors eventually behave in projects by either being supportive and constructive or unhelpful and obstructive. The findings call for an assessment of ‘indicative actor relationships’ as an alternate starting point for planning projects

Key investors and their strategies in the expansion of European student housing investment

The aim of this paper is to understand the expansion process of investment into Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) in Europe by examining transformations in student housing investment landscapes and uncovering the profiles and strategies of key investors between 2010 and 2020. Using data from Real Capital Analytics, trends in capital structures and profiles of PBSA investors are identified. Investors driving these trends are scrutinised in terms of their investment timelines, locations, hold periods and strategies of portfolio diversification. Furthermore, in-depth interviews with property analysts, PBSA investors, and developers substantiate the quantitative analysis. The empirical results show that Private Equity entered the European PBSA market, starting with the UK, when the yield premium post-GFC justified the perceived risk. Equity funds typically hold their portfolios for around five years and trade counter-cyclically with institutions such as pension funds. PBSA specialists, mainly REITs, have accumulated substantial portfolios, and the REIT structure is well-suited to the steady income which student rents should provide, but their lack of diversification leaves them vulnerable to changes in student demographics and accommodation requirements

Governing regional affordability:rethinking the production of affordable spaces across the Metropolitan Region Amsterdam (MRA)

The Covid-19 pandemic has coincided with increased residential property investment outside the Amsterdam urban core and the ongoing departure of residents into its surrounding, more affordable metropolitan area. Underlying these developments, we have found increased regulatory efforts scattered across diverse public administration scales to improve housing delivery and access throughout the metropolitan region. Within these increasingly complex landscapes, we argue there is an urgent need to develop coordinated regional governance mechanisms to respond to fragmented regulatory efforts and dynamic residential investment landscapes to ensure long-term affordability and accessibility to housing across the region. We introduce an approach to affordability that centres on regional governance, moving away from popularized urban-centric interventions to affordable housing delivery and investment

The Spatial Politics of Diversity Discourses: Regenerating Croydon Metropolitan Centre

Discourses on diversity are increasingly criticised in many fields of public policy. This study draws on the example of regeneration in the Centre of Croydon, a diverse outer-London borough, in order to explore the role of diversity discourses in the imagination and creation of new urban spaces. A framework put forward by Fincher and Iveson (2008) is utilised, who contend that any local effort to plan for diversity should follow the norms recognition, redistribution and encounter. It is argued that questions on recognition are largely absent in the regeneration of Croydon Metropolitan Centre, and redistribution is discursively substituted by an individualised focus on economic opportunities. As such, discourses provide particular sets of rationalities about the influence and scope of planning as well as the imagination of new urban spaces. Nevertheless, counter common criticism, discussions and contestations about inequality are clearly on the agenda in Croydon. Top-down framings of diversity are contested and especially the strong politicisation of encounters between socio-economic groups provides the potential to develop alternative forms of socially oriented planning

Histamine and tyramine production by bacteria isolated from spoiled sardine (Sardina pilchardus)

Bacterial strains (32) from spoiled sardine were isolated and investigated for their ability to produce histamine and tyramine in histidine and tyrosine decarboxylase broth, respectively by a rapid highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. The predominant microflora of sardine consisted of the genera Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas, Chryseobacterium, Vibrio, Photobacterium, and Stenotrophomonas. In histidine-enriched broth, the highest levels of histamine were observed in Proteus mirabilis (5201.95 mg/L), followed by Enterobacter cloacae (2333.99 mg/L), whilst the lowest histamine accumulation was found for Kluyvera spp. and Listeria monocytogenes at the level of 0.38 and 0.45 mg/L, respectively. However, Pseudomonas oryzihabitans, Chryseobacterium indologenus and Vibrio vulnificus showed the highest accumulation of tyramine in tyrosine decarboxylase broth with values of 1648.85, 774.20 and 187.96 mg/L, respectively. Serratia liquefaciens produced more than 1000 mg/L putrescine in both enrichment broths, although Serratia rulnidace did not have the ability to produce amines (except for dopamine, serotonin and agmatine) in tyrosine decarboxylase broth. The study results show that P. mirabilis and  Enterobacter cloacae, which were dominantly found in spoiled sardine, were strong amine producers.Keywords: Biogenic amines, histamine, tyramine, spoilage, sardineAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(21), pp. 3288-329

Effects of modified atmosphere packaging on microbiological load and physico-chemical properties of barramundi (Lates calcarifer Bloch) fillets at 8°C

Different modified atmosphere conditions with various CO2 concentrations on microbial load (psychrophile, mesophile aerobic and anaerobic bacteria) and physico-chemical properties of barramundi (Lates calcarifer Bloch) fillets stored at 8°C were compared to determine the best packaging conditions. The gas conditions evaluated were 100% CO2 (M1), 75% CO2/25% N2 (M2), 50% CO2/50% N2 (M3), 25% CO2/75% N2 (M4) and 100% N2 (control). High CO2 concentration (M1 and M2) of fish fillets delayed the psychrophilic bacteria growth compared to low CO2 concentration (50% and 25% CO2) as well as the mesophilic, anaerobic and histamine forming bacteria. We concluded that the atmosphere with 75:25% and 100:0 (CO2:N2) had the most appropriate gas composition to inhibit the microbial growth and prolong the shelf life of barramundi fillets (p<0.05)

The Spatial Politics of Diversity Discourses: Regenerating Croydon Metropolitan Centre

Discourses on diversity are increasingly criticised in many fields of public policy. This study draws on the example of regeneration in the Centre of Croydon, a diverse outer-London borough, in order to explore the role of diversity discourses in the imagination and creation of new urban spaces. A framework put forward by Fincher and Iveson (2008) is utilised, who contend that any local effort to plan for diversity should follow the norms recognition, redistribution and encounter. It is argued that questions on recognition are largely absent in the regeneration of Croydon Metropolitan Centre, and redistribution is discursively substituted by an individualised focus on economic opportunities. As such, discourses provide particular sets of rationalities about the influence and scope of planning as well as the imagination of new urban spaces. Nevertheless, counter common criticism, discussions and contestations about inequality are clearly on the agenda in Croydon. Top-down framings of diversity are contested and especially the strong politicisation of encounters between socio-economic groups provides the potential to develop alternative forms of socially oriented planning.