Vita Group embarks on €350m scheme in Barcelona – its first in Europe

Student and residential property business, Vita Group, has embarked on its first €350m international expansion.

Construction has started on a new student development, Vita Student Pedralbes in Barcelona, Spain, which will be the group’s first in Europe.

Vita Student currently has 22 schemes in operation across the UK including sites in London, Manchester and Edinburgh.

Vita Student Pedrables is one of two developments in the city and will create 274 beds, when it opens in September 2022.

Mark Stott, Vita Group CEO said: “It’s incredibly exciting to take the Vita Student brand into Europe and we’re confident that Barcelona will make the perfect host city thanks to its superb reputation for outstanding higher education on the international stage.

“Over the last three years we’ve been working tirelessly to create a proposition which truly reflects the brand in a new territory and we’re sure that Pedralbes and Poblenou will do just that for us in Spain.”

Vita Student Pedralbes has been designed by prestigious architectural firm Batlle I Roig, and will include private study and dining rooms, state-of-the-art gym, swimming pool, lounges and hub spaces.

In early 2023, Vita Student Poblenou will bring a further 349 beds to Barcelona.

Opening in the 22@district another of the city’s student hotspots, Poblenou will deliver the same level of service and amenities.

Once both schemes are open, Vita Group will directly employ more than 50 people in Barcelona, with total investment into the European expansion set to exceed €350m.

The business is expected to indirectly contribute to circa 750 jobs throughout Spain, with the ambition of creating more beds to meet Barcelona’s growing demand for purpose built student accommodation and ease existing pressures on the city’s housing stock.

Ioannis Verdelis, Director of International Developments at Vita Group said: “With a fantastic reputation for higher education, attracting over 40,000 students from all over the world each year and a student population which exceeds 210,000, Barcelona is the perfect place to start our European expansion programme.

“Vita Student Pedralbes will showcase our deep understanding of how to create and operate outstanding student accommodation which responds to its’ residents.”

Vita Group opened its first offices in Barcelona in January 2022 as the business looks ahead at new opportunities both in Barcelona and across Spain.