Press Release

Cappella Educore expands student housing footprint with new acquisition in Bengaluru

Sumit Ghosh

New Co-CEO Anuraag steers investment with AnaCap to acquire a 1000 student bed facility from IFIM Institutions in Electronic City of Bengaluru

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], October 28: AnaCap Financial Partners (“AnaCap”), a leading specialist mid-market private equity investor and Cappella Educore, the dedicated education infrastructure (“Edu Infra”) vertical of Cerestra Ventures, have acquired student housing assets from Bengaluru-based IFIM Institutions (“IFIM”), operated under the aegis of Centre for Developmental Education.

Sitting within AnaCap’s mid-market sweet spot, the transaction involved the acquisition of 1,000 student beds, including a combination of existing and a pipeline of new beds fully underwritten by IFIM. Located in Electronic City, Bengaluru, the student housing campus is spread across ~2.5 acres and is within walking distance of a Business School, a Law School and an undergraduate college comprising over 2,500 students. Established in 1995, IFIM is a privately owned group of Educational Institutions based in Bangalore, offering over 30 courses and ranked amongst the best business schools in India.

India has ~34 million students in the higher education space, more than double the size of the mature student housing markets in the West. Given the lack of sufficient supply, partnered with strong demand from a growing millennial student population, the market is witnessing an influx of organisations looking to capitalise on the student housing opportunity.

This marks the second student housing investment in the last 12 months where AnaCap is partnering with Capella Educore, forming a strategic partnership to focus primarily on K-12 school and student housing assets across India.

Rakesh Balasundaram, Investment Director at AnaCap, said, “This investment underscores our commitment to the Indian student accommodation sector, complemented by long-term strategic partnerships with multiple education institutions.”

Anuraag Jhunjhunwala, Co-CEO of Cappella Educore, added, “Cappella Educore is proud to be the partner of choice for two well-established institutions, AnaCap and IFIM. The latest acquisition is in line with Cappella’s strategy to acquire institutional quality student housing assets underwritten by universities. With the rapid recovery in student housing occupancy to pre-Covid levels, these education-related assets continue to demonstrate strong resilience.”

Sanjay Padode, Chairman of IFIM Institutions, also commented, “This transaction represents an exciting opportunity for the Group to smoothly transition to an asset-light model and secure capital for expansion opportunities.”