Australian real estate investment trust Dexus will launch a campaign next week to search for a joint-venture partner for a new A$800m (€536m) industrial platform.

IPE Real Assets understood that Dexus plans to sell 10 assets held on its balance sheet to seed the new partnership.

A source said: “Dexus will retain a 25% ownership interest in the portfolio and manage the new partnership, with the incoming capital partner holding the remaining 75%.

“It will be a scalable platform with the ability to grow through acquisitions of assets currently under development by the group.”

The assets are located in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and have a combined lettable space of 174,000sqm. Eight of the properties are stabilised and produce a total income of around A$36m a year.

Dexus, Australia’s largest listed office landlord, has been ramping up its exposure to the industrial sector in recent years. Last September, it acquired the listed APN Industria REIT, and bought a A$1.5bn portfolio of three industrial properties in Perth, including the Jandakot private airport.

The group manages more than A$11bn of industrial property and has a development pipeline worth A$2.5bn.

Dexus currently manages two industrial partnerships, including the Dexus Industrial Partnership, 50% owned by M&G Real Estate, and the Dexus Australian Logistics Trust (DALT) with Blackstone. The latter acquired a 49% stake in DALT for A$2.1bn from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC in December 2021.

JLL has been appointed to look for an investor for the group’s latest industrial partnership.