Oct 6, 2023
Australian Pension With $102 Billion Seeks Europe Property Deals
Bloomberg News
,![A view of skyscrapers in the Canary Wharf business, financial and shopping district from the Horizon 22 public viewing gallery in the 22 Bishopsgate skyscraper in the City of London, UK, on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023. The gallery, in the city's tallest skyscraper, will open to the public on Wednesday, Sept. 27. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg, Bloomberg A view of skyscrapers in the Canary Wharf business, financial and shopping district from the Horizon 22 public viewing gallery in the 22 Bishopsgate skyscraper in the City of London, UK, on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023. The gallery, in the city's tallest skyscraper, will open to the public on Wednesday, Sept. 27. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg](/polopoly_fs/1.1981070.1696567292!/fileimage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/a-view-of-skyscrapers-in-the-canary-wharf-business-financial-and-shopping-district-from-the-horizon-22-public-viewing-gallery-in-the-22-bishopsgate-skyscraper-in-the-city-of-london-uk-on-thursday-sept-14-2023-the-gallery-in-the-city-s-tallest-skyscraper-will-open-to-the-public-on-wednesday-sept-27-photographer-chris-ratcliffe-bloomberg.jpg)
(Bloomberg) -- Aware Super Pty, one of Australia’s largest pension funds, is hunting for more property and infrastructure deals in Europe as it opens a London office.
Favorable tax and policy settings in Europe were particularly spurring more residential opportunities, Deanne Stewart, chief executive officer of the A$160 billion ($102 billion) fund, said in an interview. The interest comes on the back of Aware’s recent acquisition of a stake in UK build-to-rent developer Get Living.
“Certainly in Europe we are wanting to do more investments in both the build-to-rent, broader property and in infrastructure,” Stewart said in an interview.
The fund is also eyeing opportunities at home, where a dearth of rental properties and collapse of construction firms has created a deepening housing crisis. Aware has committed A$1.5 billion to building 2,000 apartments over the next five years in Australia, where the build-to-rent sector is still fledgling.
“It’s been quite opportunistic,” Stewart said of the local projects. “Where there’s been dips in the market or there’s been a forced seller, we’ve been able to get in and actually get things at quite a low price.”
Australian opportunities could be harder to stack up financially. Developers of build-to-rent properties aren’t able to access favorable tax treatment that community housing providers can, meaning the costs are much higher, Stewart said.
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