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hicago-based CA Ventures is facing significant challenges as its European student-housing platform enters creditors' voluntary liquidation. The platform, which managed 7,000 beds and had planning permissions for an additional 5,000, has been deemed financially unsustainable after a failed rescue package. A proposed $101 million capital injection from Bahrain's GFH Financial Group would have provided working capital and growth funding for a new entity, but the deal fell through.
The collapse of the European operations mirrors ongoing issues in the US, where CA Ventures is embroiled in multiple lawsuits. Last month, a lawsuit was filed accusing CEO Tom Scott of misusing $14 million from development loans to cover personal debts. The company has also sold a property in Chicago's Lincoln Square after missed payments and a foreclosure lawsuit.
CA Ventures is managing $75 million in delinquent loans on senior housing facilities in Kansas and suburban Chicago. In 2022, the company sold a UK student housing portfolio to Apollo Global Management for approximately $227,400 per bed. To mitigate the fallout, Harrison Street has transitioned property management of CA's European properties to Mezzino Student Living.
