Kinetic Capital and Kayne Anderson Real Estate launch partnership to transform European student housing financing.

16 December 2021 – London, New York – Kinetic Capital (“Kinetic”), a specialist lender in the purpose-built student accommodation (“PBSA”) sector, and Kayne Anderson Real Estate (“KA Real Estate”), the real estate private equity arm of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, today announced the launch of Rhize Capital (“Rhize”), a highly sophisticated debt funding platform for the European student housing financing market serving experienced PBSA owners, developers and operators in the UK and Europe.

The business aims to deploy an initial US$1 billion to the sector over the next two years, providing tailored financing solutions and forging long-term funding partnerships with clients across multiple loans. Rhize will have the capability to make loans of over £100 million, which will include incentives for borrowers who support the positive mental health and wellbeing of student residents.

Rhize brings together Kinetic’s and KA Real Estate’s decades of experience in the student housing sector, combining Kayne’s significant financial strength and sector expertise with Kinetic’s flexible and dedicated approach of a specialist lender.

The new venture further builds on KA Real Estate’s track record in the US student housing market, where the firm has pioneered investing for more than 14 years and expands Kayne’s geographic footprint in the UK and Europe. Rhize will benefit from KA Real Estate’s operator-oriented platform, unique sourcing network and strong financing and lending relationships.

The partnership will also benefit from Kinetic’s success in the UK PBSA lending sector and the strategic support of Kinetic co-founder Nicholas Porter and his family of businesses specialising in the global higher education space. With over 50 years of combined experience in European PBSA, the Kinetic leadership team bring unparalleled underwriting and risk management capability to the venture.

Rhize will significantly expand Kinetic’s existing geographic focus and loan size, while widening its product set to include investment and stabilisation loans as well as a broader range of development finance solutions. It will operate alongside Kinetic’s existing UK focused investment programme.

Steve Grant, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Kinetic Capital, commented:

“The launch of Rhize is an exciting development for the European student housing sector, with our unique ability to provide innovative financing solutions to PBSA owners, developers and operators across the continent.

Kinetic and Kanye Anderson are the ideal partners in this new venture, bringing significant financial strength underpinned by deep sector expertise and unmatched pedigree in the student housing debt market globally. PBSA continues to exhibit compelling fundamentals and significant growth potential. We look forward to being the funding partner of choice for a wide range of clients in this dynamic and growing sector.”

Al Rabil, Chief Executive Officer, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors and Co-Founder and CEO, Kayne Anderson Real Estate, commented:

“We have an unparalleled record of investing in student housing, and the launch of Rhize is a testament to our long-term investment strategy, continued outperformance and commitment to the core alternative sectors where we have outsized knowledge and operational expertise. We are thrilled to expand our global footprint in the UK and Europe, which are key growth markets in the student housing market.”

Nicholas Porter, Co-Founder of Kinetic Capital, commented:

“I am very pleased to be partnering with Kayne Anderson on the launch of Rhize Capital. With our culturally aligned market leading teams working closely together, I am confident in our ability to capture this unique strategic growth opportunity across Europe. By combining our in-depth knowledge and exceptional leadership from both sides of the globe we will expand into new markets and deliver compelling returns for investors. This commitment demonstrates the strength of our relationship and our unwavering confidence in the resilience of student housing and the higher education sector.”

David Selznick, Chief Investment Officer, Kayne Anderson Real Estate, commented:

“We see a significant opportunity to support the growth of student housing in the UK and Europe with a best in class partner that has been investing in the sector for many years.  Combined with our deep experience in student housing and building a multibillion dollar debt platform in the US, Rhize will be a differentiated lending platform to provide much needed liquidity to the fragmented debt markets in the UK and Europe.”  

Rhize Capital (“Rhize”) is a leading specialist debt funding platform for the European student housing and related living markets. Launched in December 2021 as a partnership between Kinetic Capital and Kayne Anderson Real Estate, Rhize brings together decades of experience in the global student housing sector, combining significant financial strength and sector expertise, coupled with the flexible and dedicated approach of a specialist lender. The platform provides world-class tailored funding solutions for experienced student housing and build-to-rent owners, developers and operators, and aims to deploy US$1 billion over the coming years.

For more information, please visit: www.rhizecapital.com

Kinetic Capital was launched in July 2020 and is a specialist PBSA lender, focused initially on the UK and Irish markets, with plans to expand internationally.  With over 50 years’ experience in the PBSA sector, the team has an unparalleled track record and ability to underwrite and manage risk in PBSA transactions—having delivered over £7 billion of schemes across 9 countries and 4 continents.

Further information about Kinetic Capital can be found via its website:  www.kineticcapital.co.uk

Kayne Anderson Real Estate (“KA Real Estate”) is a leading real estate private equity investor in medical office, seniors housing, off-campus student housing, multifamily housing and self-storage. KA Real Estate manages over $13.3 billion of real estate AUM (as of 11/30/21) across opportunistic equity, core equity and real estate debt. KA Real Estate is part of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P., a $31.1 billion alternative investment management firm (AUM as of 11/30/21) with more than 37 years of successful experience in the real estate, renewable and energy infrastructure, energy, credit, and growth capital sectors.

For more information, visit: www.kaynecapital.com/real-estate/