The Student Hotel Rotterdam — Photo by The Student Hotel Group

Big news! The Student Hotel just announced the acquisition of the shares in our first three properties, Amsterdam West, The Hague and Rotterdam. The shares were acquired from The Carlyle Group, one of our first investors.

We'll let our founder and CEO, Charlie MacGregor, explain it best:

"The acquisition of The Carlyle Group 85% shareholding will allow The Student Hotel to consolidate and gain full control of these three properties. We are grateful to The Carlyle Group for its trust in a start-up that evolved into a leading and innovative model of accommodation.

Without the commitment and assistance of Carlyle, we would not have been able to start addressing the shortage of quality accommodation across Europe with a new model that meets local and international student needs. The sale signifies that the European market for student accommodation is growing and maturing."

We've come a long way since MacGregor founded The Student Hotel in 2006 and entered into a joint venture with Carlyle in 2008. In 2012 we opened our Rotterdam location, the first The Student Hotel operation in The Netherlands, with 256 rooms (the capacity was doubled to 485 rooms in 2014 to satisfy increasing demand). The opening of The Student Hotel Amsterdam West followed in 2013, earning the distinction of the largest hotel in the Benelux, with 707 rooms. The location in The Hague opened with 310 rooms in the summer of 2014. All student rooms have been fully occupied since opening.

The investment of The Carlyle Group was instrumental for the early phase of the company so we are very grateful for their commitment. But fully owning, operating and improving our very first properties is a pretty thrilling opportunity. We're excited to see where this next adventure takes us.