Australia’s Aware Super will invest up to A$900m (€556m) to purchase a stake in Get Living and to invest in the UK build-to-rent (BTR) operator’s future projects.

The Australia industry superannuation fund has invested an undisclosed sum to buy Qatari Diar’s 22% stake in Get Living and will become co-investor with DOOR (a residential investment vehicle comprising investment from Delancey client funds, Oxford Properties, Alecta, Allianz and LPPI). APG and DOOR each control a 39% stake.

Get Living, the UK’s second-largest BTR operator has a £3bn portfolio with 4,000 homes across three neighbourhoods. It has plans for a further 6,500 homes in the secured development pipeline.

Aware Super senior portfolio manager – property, Alek Misev, told IPE Real Assets: “We are investing up to A$900m, which includes the initial equity stake and also into the development pipeline.”

“We have flagged for a while now that we want to increase our investment in BTR in the UK, which is a very interesting market. It lacks supply to meet strong tenant demand in the key cities.”

Aware Super already has a presence in continental Europe through its 50-50 partnership with APG in Spanish BTR operator Vivenio.

With the latest investment, Misev said residential now made up 40% of the fund’s real estate portfolio of A$10bn. About 25% was in BTR and the rest were in senior living and serviced apartments.

Damien Webb, Aware Super’s deputy CIO, told IPE Real Assets: “We have been focusing on direct investments and we are doing well in finding direct investments such as Get Living. It allows us access to grow with them. We can add our capital over the next five to 10 years as Get Living builds out its development pipeline.”

“More broadly,” said Webb, “the key issue for us is to try to get ready to manage a portfolio of A$250bn and in scale.”

Tariq Al Abdulla, chief development and project delivery officer (Europe and America), Qatari Diar, said the Qatari sovereign investor formed the Get Living Platform in 2013 in partnership with Delancey client funds after purchasing the former Athletes’ Village, following the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic.

“We are very confident that Aware Super are well-positioned to seamlessly continue the success of Get Living and help drive its ambitious vision,” he said.

Rick De Blaby, CEO of Get Living, said: “In Aware Super, we are extremely privileged to have a long-term, purpose-driven and mature investor, and I look forward to working closely with their team as they join our other valued investors in APG and DOOR.”

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