A team of six final year undergraduates went to New York to take part in the Cornell Real Estate Case Competition in early November and described it as, "a fantastic learning opportunity".

A team of six final year undergraduates went to New York to take part in the Cornell Real Estate Case Competition in early November.   The students were accompanied by Nick Mansley, Executive Director of The Cambridge Real Estate Research Centre, who arranged for them to work from Aviva Investors' offices and to hear from his former colleagues about real estate private equity investing.  

The case this time involved assessing a portfolio of three properties across the US (Charlotte, South LA and Oklahoma City), devising a property strategy for each,  selecting from different financing options and structuring a joint venture.  19 universities from around the world took part, with teams having five days to prepare a presentation setting out their proposal with respect to the case which was then judged by industry professionals, who expressed how impressed they were with the quality of the presentations.   The students performed well but did not win.   However, they described it as

a fantastic educational experience

 

 

They also managed to have some fun!

Nick Mansley
Executive Director, Cambridge Real Estate Research Centre