BlackRock and Wentworth Capital have acquired two life sciences facilities as seed assets for a new A$1.5bn (€907m) Australian life sciences real estate platform.
The acquired assets comprise a Red Cross blood-processing facility in Alexandria, in Sydney’s inner west and an asset located at 37 Epping Road, Macquarie Park, in Sydney’s north. Financial details were undisclosed.
A Charter Hall trust owned the Red Cross Building since 2021 when it paid A$159m to acquire it from South Korea’s AIP Asset Management. The Macquarie Park building last changed hands in 2016 for A$34m.
Ben Hickey, head of Australia real estate at BlackRock said: “We believe the life sciences sector represents a growing opportunity to capitalise on long-term sectoral tailwinds driven by increased government and infrastructure spend.”
Hickey added: “As Australia enjoys significant runway for growth similar to trends seen in the UK and US markets, we aim to invest in fit-for-purpose laboratory assets support the rising industry demand and the growth of dynamic life science and biomedical innovation hubs in the country.”
BlackRock made the investment on behalf of funds managed by the firm’s real estate business.
Paul Apostoles, executive director of Wentworth Capital, said: “Since acquiring the University of Sydney Medical Foundation Building last year, our focus has been on enhancing our presence and capitalising on the growth and development in Australia’s life sciences and innovation sectors.”
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