ICO and Lagoom Living forge a strategic alliance to promote Distrito Universidad, the first affordable rental housing smart city in Spain

Lagoom Living, the real estate investment management firm specialising in affordable rental housing, and the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) have signed a financing agreement for the development of Distrito Universidad, the first smart city of subsidised rental housing in Spain. The operation is backed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda.

Thanks to this alliance, ICO will provide up to 59.3 million euros to Lagoom Living through the funds of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (RRM), a financial instrument of the European Union aimed at promoting sustainable and socially responsible projects within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

The agreement was signed by the president of ICO, Manuel Illueca, and the CEO and director of Lagoom Living, Javier Braza, who highlighted the importance of this financing to facilitate access to subsidised housing and boost the city’s social and economic fabric.
As part of this pioneering alliance, a site visit was carried out this morning to learn about the progress of the project. In attendance were ICO’s Director General for Financing and Risks, Antonio Cordero; the Director General for Planning and Evaluation of the Ministry of Housing and the Urban Agenda, Ana Berenguer; the Regional Minister for Development, Territorial Planning and Housing of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Rocío Díaz; and the Mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre; among other authorities.

University District: a leading model in subsidised rental housing

The University District project, located to the west of Teatinos (Malaga), envisages the construction of 530 subsidised housing units for rent, with an estimated average price of 600 euros per month. Its innovative design focuses on sustainability, energy efficiency and the creation of a connected and socially responsible community.

Currently, the building works being carried out by Sacyr, Lagoom Living's construction partner, have already reached 32% completion, ahead of the initially planned deadlines. In this regard, the first phase of the R3 project will be delivered in February next year, R15 in May and R11 and R12 in June.

The CEO of Lagoom Living, Javier Braza, highlighted that "this collaboration with ICO reinforces our vision of an affordable, accessible, innovative and sustainable housing model. Distrito Universidad is a key project that places Malaga at the forefront of subsidised housing in Spain".

The Chairman of ICO stressed that "this social project is financed by the European #NextGenerationEU funds, through the ICO Housing Credit Line and with a 50% guarantee from the Ministry of Housing and the Urban Agenda. Affordable housing finance is a priority within ICO's strategy and we are working hard to increase the stock of socially rented or affordable housing and to improve the existing stock of social housing, using public-private partnership mechanisms.

The Mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, stressed that the development of subsidised housing through public-private collaboration is proof that efforts can be united to achieve a common goal. He also pointed out that the inclusion of the Instituto del Crédito Oficial to finance the private part of the operation of the second phase of the University is great news for Malaga. This contribution is in addition to the EU funding obtained by Malaga City Council in a call for proposals channelled by the Government through the Andalusian Regional Government (Junta de Andalucía). Furthermore, he recalled that the land where Lagoom Living is building these 530 homes was provided free of charge by the City Council, through a public tender, and is valued at 13 million euros.

The Andalusian Regional Minister of Development, Territorial Planning and Housing, Rocío Díaz, stressed the importance of "collaboration between institutions" to promote public-private partnership in housing construction. The 530 homes in Malaga, said Rocío Díaz, are the result of this four-way agreement with an investment of almost 90 million euros, with a grant of 25.5 million euros from the Regional Government through the Ecovivienda Plan, the mechanism devised by the Regional Government of Andalusía for the management of European Next Generation funds in housing.

The Director General for Planning and Evaluation of the Ministry of Housing and the Urban Agenda, Ana Berenguer, stressed that "the Spanish government's priority is to converge with the European average in terms of social rental stock. Projects like this, with the support of all government agencies, are essential. In 2024 we reached 3.4% of the social rental stock in Spain, up from 2.5% in 2019. Now with this line of loans for the development of affordable rental housing and the guarantees from the Ministry of Housing, we will inject an additional 4 billion between this year and next year to change the paradigm of social rental housing in Spain. The Ministry of Housing's ambition is that the public housing stock that we are building today, with the efforts of all of us, should be built for today and forever. We trust that all the government agencies that are making this effort now will not undo this investment effort"

A strategic partnership to address the housing challenge in Malaga

The signing of this agreement represents a milestone in the funding of subsidised housing projects in Malaga and Andalusia, being one of the first initiatives of its kind in the country, fostering the creation of sustainable, inclusive urban environments that respond to the growing demand for affordable housing.

University District will not only provide efficient and accessible homes, but will also promote an innovative community model based on co-responsibility and social inclusion. With this agreement, the public bodies reinforce their commitment to the development of housing solutions that improve the quality of life of citizens and serve as a model for future initiatives at the national level.

About Lagoom Living

Lagoom Living is a real estate investment company that since its establishment in Malaga in June 2022 has been committed to an innovative model of urban development, focusing on the creation of inclusive, sustainable and transformative communities. With a significant investment, it is working to expand the stock of subsidised rental housing, an urgent need in the current context of the residential market.
 
Lagoom Living is advised by prestigious firms such as Gómez Acebo & Pombo and Colliers International; and by Sogeviso as the operating management company for its developments, which guarantees a professional and people-centred model for the management of affordable rentals.

It is currently developing several projects in the city of Malaga: These include: University District, with 530 dwellings; Zeta District, with 292 dwellings; regeneration and rehabilitation actions in its urban core, specifically in the area of Lagunillas and Gigantes streets, with a total of 158 dwellings and, recently, it has been awarded land for the development and future exploitation of 114 dwellings in Cortijo Merino.

Lagoom Living is developing an ambitious growth plan that envisages the construction of 3,000 new homes not only in Malaga and Andalusia, but is also exploring new avenues of strategic expansion in autonomous communities such as Madrid, Valencia and Extremadura, with the aim of replicating its affordable housing model in other regions with high residential demand.
 

About ICO

The Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) is the Spanish national development bank, attached to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise. With more than 50 years of experience, ICO has become a leader in business financing that contributes to boosting sustainable economic growth, competitiveness and the digital transformation of the Spanish business fabric, in line with its 2022-2027 Strategy and the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

The Institute has extensive experience in financing the development of public or subsidised rental housing under several different housing plans. This area of action has been strengthened with the management of the ICO Housing Line with EU funds #NextGenerationEU.