Australian fund manager Charter Hall is close to raising AUD800m (€531m) for two of its property funds.
Charter Hall Prime Office Fund (CPOF) and Charter Hall Prime Industrial Fund (CPIF) are expected to close on AUD500m and AUD300m, respectively, by the end of June.
CPOF owns 19 office buildings, including some of Australia’s biggest, valued at approximately AUD3bn, while CPIF has 44 assets valued at around AUD2bn.
Richard Stacker, group executive for global investor relations, told IPE Real Estate that the industrial fund could grow to AUD3bn over the next 18 months.
He cited increasing demand from global investors for industrial and office assets in Australia.
Among recent investors to CPIF is a New York-based pension fund. Stacker said nearly two-thirds of capital in CPIF is today from overseas investors, he said.
CPOF, meanwhile, has some 20 investors with commitments ranging from AUD10m-plus to between AUD200m and AUD300m.
Stacker recently met with potential investors from Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan, along with the Asia-Pacific representatives of large European and North American institutions and pension funds.
Stacker said Charter Hall offers investors Australia-specific exposure, which might not suit those looking for pan-Asia coverage.
But for those looking specifically to Australia, groups like Charter Hall are in a good position to attract capital because of the scale of their existing investments and market presence.
Charter Hall manages a total of AUD19bn across its Australian office, retail and industrial property portfolio, of which AUD12.5bn is in its wholesale funds.
“We encourage investors to start with one of our funds, to do the due diligence on us to get started,” Stacker said. “Some of these investors have progressed to partnership or club arrangements with the group.”
For example, in 2016 CPOF created a new wholesale trust with an investment vehicle sponsored by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing (MSREI), together acquiring 100% of One Shelley Street, Sydney for AUD525m.
In another partnership, Charter Hall is working with an Australian superannuation fund MTTA to invest in convenience based non-discretionary retail property in metro locations with strong population growth that have potential redevelopment and rezoning opportunities.
Singapore’s GIC is believed to be finalising details on a AUD500m mandate to Charter Hall to deploy a countercyclical strategy to acquire real estate in Brisbane and Perth, currently two of the weaker markets in Australia.
Stacker declined to discuss the group’s capital partners.
