GLOBAL – The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has made its first foray into the Tokyo office market with a co-investment programme – Tokyo Office Venture – with GE Capital Real Estate.

CPPIB will hold a 49% stake in the $400m (€310m) venture, while GE Capital will control 51%.

Both companies will enjoy veto power over any deal considered during the venture's three-year investment period.

Graeme Eadie, senior vice-president and head of real estate investments at CPPIB, said: "This opportunity provides us with an attractive entry point to the Tokyo office sector and supports our strategy to expand our real estate portfolio in Asia."

Francois Trausch, president of GE Capital Real Estate Asia Pacific, said: "We are pleased to have CPPIB as a partner and look forward to working together as we ramp-up our sourcing activities to identify compelling real estate opportunities that will generate risk-adjusted returns for the TOV programme."

The venture's investment strategy is to buy mid-sized class A and B office properties in key central business district sub-markets.

The properties invested in will be a combination of core plus and value-add. 

CPPIB has only one other direct real estate investment in Japan, a JV with Global Logistics Properties to develop and hold modern logistics properties. 

CPPIB recently increased its allotment to this venture to $588m.