Australian Unity has launched a new childcare property fund with plans to grow its portfolio to A$250m (€156m) in three years.
The Melbourne-based manager seeded the Australian Unity Childcare Property Fund with six childcare centres of a combined value of more than A$30m.
The fund was in talks to buy a further 12 childcare centres valued at approximately A$75m and located in Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth, the company said.
The new fund would commence its next capital raise in April, and was seeking to raise a further A$40m to support its acquisition pipeline and continued growth.
Ryan Banting, general manager – social infrastructure at Australian Unity, said: “Childcare centres are growing in investor popularity, with the sector enjoying strong bipartisan political support.
“Our research estimates that an additional 3,000 childcare centres will be needed over the next decade to cope with the growth of two-working parent families, as more women look to enter or re-join the workforce to reinvigorate their professional careers.”
Banting said childcare property was a logical extension of Australian Unity’s social infrastructure portfolio, which included specialist disability accommodation, seniors living, hospital and healthcare facilities, and, more recently, student accommodation.
With A$5bn in real estate funds under management, Australian Unity has invested in the healthcare, accommodation, retail, industrial and office sectors.
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