Barings, Article Student Living Acquire Student Housing Property at University of Kentucky

March 04, 2025 at 09:00 AM EST

Barings, one of the world’s largest diversified real estate investment managers, and Article Student Living, a Chicago-based, vertically integrated student housing operator, announced today the acquisition of 5 Twenty Four and 5 Twenty Five Angliana, a 1,060-bed student housing property at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. The purchase expands Barings’ investment in the student housing sector and builds on the firm’s $21.5+ billion* global real estate equity platform.

“We are excited about the opportunity to continue partnering with Article Student Living across Barings’ equity and debt investment teams,” said Akbar Tajani, Barings’ Managing Director, Real Estate Portfolio Management. “The student housing sector has been a growing high conviction theme for us given strong fundamentals and continued desire for higher education in the United States. We look forward to expanding our relationship with Article in pursuing similar investment opportunities in what we believe to be supply and demand imbalanced markets.”

“These properties were purpose-built with students in mind, and provide the underlying infrastructures for convenience, community-building and wellness. We’re pleased to acquire these best-in-class properties to help provide housing for students at the University of Kentucky, which continues to experience strong demand for high-quality student accommodation,” said Kevin Hites, President of Article Student Living. “We also look forward to exploring future opportunities for partnership with Barings, which shares our strong conviction in the student housing sector.”

The student housing community is located within walking distance to both the University of Kentucky campus and downtown Lexington. Barings and Article Student Living plan to renovate the amenity space and unit interiors, offering a refreshed look to the existing, positive traits of the property.

“We anticipate continued, strong enrollment growth at the University of Kentucky and believe this property will be well-positioned to offer a high-quality option for students seeking an elevated living experience,” said Jack Clare, Barings’ Director, Real Estate Equity Acquisitions.

About Barings

Barings is a $421+ billion* global asset management firm that partners with institutional, insurance, and intermediary clients, and supports leading businesses with flexible financing solutions. The firm, a subsidiary of MassMutual, seeks to deliver excess returns by leveraging its global scale and capabilities across public and private markets in fixed income, real assets and capital solutions. Learn more at Barings.com.

*Assets under management as of December 31, 2024

About Article Student Living

Article Student Living is a Chicago-based, vertically integrated real estate investment company specializing in acquiring, developing and operating Class A, purpose-built student housing assets across top-tier university markets in the U.S. Article has experience in over 70 university markets and continues to sustainably grow its portfolio of assets – prioritizing university market selection, value creation and asset composition. Article currently manages 45 assets comprising over 25,000 beds valued at over three billion dollars. The firm is wholly owned by QuadReal, one of the top 20 largest real estate investors globally.

www.articlestudentliving.com