RELIFE PADOVA & PISA
A FUNDING OPPORTUNITY FOR PBSA IN ITALY
Italian PBSA Forward Funding / Purchase Opportunity with a cast-iron vertically integrated developer-operator situated in Italy’s most undersupplied student cities
IntroducingRELIFE Padova & Pisa
An opportunity to forward fund or forward purchase a fully consented 247 bed, shovel-ready Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) asset in one of the most undersupplied markets in Italy.
In addition, Real Asset Capital & RELIFE have secured another site in Pisa and are in the final stages of achieving planning consent for 220 rooms as part of a wider masterplan – expected to be shovel-ready by Q1 2027.
Both schemes offer institutional scale, outstanding quality and the ability to partner with a trusted vertically integrated sponsor – Real Asset Capital & RELIFE.
The sponsor is currently securing a wider pipeline throughout Italy, providing the successful investor with an extensive opportunity to build scale swiftly.
Real Asset Capital & RELIFE have already identified further PBSA sites in Rome, Bologna, Ferrara and Caligari.
The Ask: An investor to forward fund or forward purchase RELIFE Padova, with a follow on forward fund or forward purchase of RELIFE Pisa, subject to the necessary consents.
Two Cities.One Opportunity.
PADOVA
Fully consented shovel-ready site, 15 minute walk from the city centre and university, with only a 5% provision well below the EU average (c.15%) and the UK average (30%).
247 beds
Across 214 rooms
LEED GOLD Certification
Targeting
Extensive Amenities
2028/29 Academic
Delivery
Supporting Responsible Living
Home to RELIFE Foundation
PISA
Secured city centre site, steps from campus and 400m from the Leaning Tower, with planning consent due imminently. Pisa’s c.3% provision rate remains well below the EU average (c.15%) and the UK average (30%).
320 Beds
Across 220 rooms (to be confirmed)
LEED GOLD Certification
Targeting
Extensive Amenities
2029/30 Academic
Delivery
Supporting Responsible Living
Home to RELIFE Foundation
Why Italy?GROWINGTHRIVINGINVESTING
Italy presents the strongest PBSA fundamentals in Europe, driven by an acute supply-demand imbalance set against a growing and increasingly international student population. Against two million students, the country offers just 85,000 beds representing a 4% provision rate, versus a c.15% European average and over 30% in the UK.
Demand is exceptionally strong and continues to accelerate – student numbers grew 5% year-on-year in 2025, international enrolment reached 110,000 (up 14% in 2024/25 and 127% since 2016), and Erasmus participation rose 13% to 173,500. This is in addition to a growing movement of English-speaking courses across Italian universities.
This imbalance is translating into rapidly building investor conviction. PBSA volumes reached €520m in 2025, up c.65% year-on-year, making it the leading asset class in the Living Sector at 51% of investment, with transactions rising to 14 (from just one in 2020).
Whilst the development pipeline is expected to lift operational stock above 100,000 beds by 2028, full delivery would still leave provision at only c.5% – keeping the market materially undersupplied and supporting a sustained investment runway for decades to come.
2M
University students
4%
PBSA provision rate
€520M
Investment volumes (2025)
85K
Beds available (vs 2M students)
+5%
Student growth YoY (2025)
14
Transactions (from 1 in 2020)
The Team Behind the Opportunity
Real Asset Capital
Real Asset Capital is a Swiss private Real Estate investment group with a €2bn+ executed track record across Europe, having developed and exited institutional residential and hospitality assets across Switzerland, France, Italy, the UK and Spain. Over the past few years, Real Asset Capital has executed a dedicated PBSA strategy in Italy through its vertically integrated Real Asset Capital & RELIFE platform.
RELIFE
Visit RELIFERELIFE is the dedicated Italian PBSA operating business headquartered in Milan, established by Real Asset Capital. Together, Real Asset Capital and RELIFE develop, lease, manage and operate PBSA assets across Italy. Exited projects include the 233-bed RELIFE Torino I (opened 2024, LEED Gold) and the 98-bed RELIFE Torino II (opened 2025, LEED Gold) sold to Bankinter Investments and Plenium Partners.
Together, Real Asset Capital and RELIFE bring decades of institutional real estate expertise and a proven Italian PBSA track record to every project they deliver.
Case Study:RELIFE Torino
An insight into RELIFE’s PBSA product and operational model.
RELIFE Torino comprises two assets, completed in 2024 & 2025. The joined-up scheme lays the foundations for what will be delivered across their wider pipeline.
The rooms are cleverly designed to maximise space for students with single or double beds, ample storage and kitchenettes in all studios. All rooms are ensuite.
Residents have access to a range of amenity including a large lounge area, extensive study spaces and an expansive garden with seated areas.
RELIFE Torino also offers a variety of recreational and sports facilities including a commercial-style gym, communal kitchen, bar area, roof terrace featuring a basketball court as well as an outdoor padel court and pickleball court, a rarity in the market.
The asset also features Sospeso, an F&B space, open to both residents and the public. Students use this day-to-day for food and drinks while also attending events organised by RELIFE, such as parties and DJ nights.
The RELIFE Foundation occupies an area adjacent to Sospeso to host events with the local community where residents can also volunteer.
It is Real Asset Capital’s cast-iron development experience and RELIFE’s award-winning operational expertise that position them as the foremost delivery and operational partner for investors within Italy’s evolving PBSA sector.
Student reviews
Harris Associates conducted interviews with residents at RELIFE Torino to better understand their experience.
The onsite manager confirmed that 100% of applicable students are rebooking RELIFE for next year. All students mentioned they would recommend the asset to a friend.
“I feel like this is my home.”
“Everybody that I know - they’re all going to stay here.”
“When you come here, you fall in love with the place.”
“This year exceeded my expectations and a big part of it was RELIFE, the beauty, the people. [When I leave] I’m going to feel pretty sad.”
“When people talk to me and say ‘I don’t know where to live’, I say ‘go to RELIFE, I love that place.”
“The friends you make here - they’re friends that are going to be with me for the rest of my life.”
“The experience was excellent. RELIFE Torino has a very welcoming atmosphere, and I felt at home from the first day. Definitely a recommended place for students looking for comfort. I couldn’t be happier with my choice!”
“We chose this residence for my daughter’s first Erasmus exchange. I wholeheartedly recommend it. She felt right at home during her six-month stay, and I’m so grateful to all the staff.”
“I feel like this is my home.”
“Everybody that I know - they’re all going to stay here.”
“When you come here, you fall in love with the place.”
“This year exceeded my expectations and a big part of it was RELIFE, the beauty, the people. [When I leave] I’m going to feel pretty sad.”
“When people talk to me and say ‘I don’t know where to live’, I say ‘go to RELIFE, I love that place.”
“The friends you make here - they’re friends that are going to be with me for the rest of my life.”
“The experience was excellent. RELIFE Torino has a very welcoming atmosphere, and I felt at home from the first day. Definitely a recommended place for students looking for comfort. I couldn’t be happier with my choice!”
“We chose this residence for my daughter’s first Erasmus exchange. I wholeheartedly recommend it. She felt right at home during her six-month stay, and I’m so grateful to all the staff.”
