Vita Group partners with Spanish real estate developer on Madrid flex-living scheme

Metrovacesa, a Spanish real estate developer with more than 100 years of history, and Vita Group, the Manchester-based specialist in urban regeneration, have signed a joint venture to develop a flex-living building at Oria Innovation Campus, on Avenida Cardenal Herrera Oria, next to the former Clesa factory in Madrid. 

It is a 22,000 sq m building that will have 519 rooms with a plethora of resident amenities and services, such as a co-working area, games room and swimming pool. The construction will begin this month, and it will come into operation in 2027, at which time Vita Group will become the sole owner and operator of the building.

Cain International, the alternative asset manager specialising in real estate investment solutions, is providing a €73m construction loan to Vita Group and Metrovacesa SA for the development of the flexible living tower.

The deal marks Cain’s seventh financing transaction with Vita Group, supporting the delivery of more than 5,000 beds across the UK and Europe.

The agreement marks Vita’s first venture into Flex-Living, utilising its experience as a vertically integrated developer and operator of Co-Living, PBSA and BTR brands to develop a best-in-class Flex-Living product which responds to Madrid’s fast-paced rental market. 

The project is the second Vita Group and Metrovacesa are jointly developing, both within the scope of the Oria Innovation Campus.

Works began on the first building, Vita Student Oria Madrid, at the end of 2023 and will be completed in 2026.

The 20,100 sq m residence will have a total of 588 studio apartments offering ‘the world’s best student living experience’ with outstanding amenities such as a state-of-the-art gym, games room, private dining rooms, study areas and a swimming pool. 

For Metrovacesa, Oria Innovation Campus is the largest project in its tertiary business segment and an example of the long term value creation of its land portfolio.

With a total of 89,000 sq m of mixed-use land spread over four buildings, the Oria Project will represent a total investment of more than €300m for the city of Madrid.

In addition to the two Vita buildings, the complex will have a further two buildings with a further 46,000 sq m for tertiary use, for which Metrovacesa continues to explore alternatives with potential investors or tenants. 

Oria Innovation Campus aims to be a benchmark space in terms of energy efficiency and urban regeneration of an area that had been in disuse for years, promoting a new pole of economic activity. It will have state-of-the-art, high quality and efficient buildings, which will achieve, as a minimum, the BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating. Fifty per cent of the common areas of the complex will be dedicated to green areas. It will also have a high number of parking spaces within the master plan, fully guarded, with an area dedicated to car sharing and electric vehicle charging. 

Enrique Gracia, Director of Tertiary at Metrovacesa, said: “At Metrovacesa we are committed to creating innovative projects that bring long term value to cities. Oria Innovation Campus is an emblematic project that contributes to urban regeneration and dynamism in the city of Madrid, and this agreement between Metrovacesa and Vita Group is an important milestone to ensure the success of the project.”

Ioannis Verdelis, Chief Investment Officer for Vita Group, said: “The Oria Innovation Campus is one of the most exciting large scale urban regeneration projects taking place in Europe and provides Vita with an opportunity to take its best-in-class living products and tailor them to this fast-paced, residential market which is short supply.

“We’re confident that with Madrid’s growing economy, vibrant tourism and reputation for some of the world’s best higher education institutions that our new flex-living product will respond incredibly well to the residential needs of the city and with Metrovacesa and Cain we have the right partners on board to help deliver it.” 

Graham Keable, Managing Director at Cain International, said: “Madrid’s robust economic growth, strong demographic profile, and key industries like travel, tourism, technology, education and manufacturing have created favourable long term fundamentals for its living sector.

“Having partnered with the Vita team on multiple PBSA projects, we are confident that their strong track record and high quality offering will appeal in one of Europe’s leading cities. We look forward to continuing to strengthen our partnership.”