ESR has raised US$245m (€222m) for its inaugural domestic fund in Japan, which will fund the ESR Kawanishi Distribution Centre 3 (DC3), a $1bn logistics development in Osaka, Japan.
The real asset manager said 14 domestic investors, together with a long-standing European capital partner, have provided funding for the 433,000sqm, nine-storey project, which has now commenced.
ESR Kawanishi DC3 marks the third and final ready-built facility within the full-service ESR Kawanishi Distribution and Techno Park.
Stuart Gibson, ESR Group co-founder and co-CEO, said: “ESR Kawanishi is the most accomplished realisation of ESR’s product vision in Japan to date. Customer demand is markedly higher for logistics space in large-scale park developments and is set to grow even further with the current re-onshoring of manufacturing activity.
“This underpins ESR’s differentiated investment thesis based on accelerating rental growth. Given the dearth of suitable zoned land, the strategic decision we made years ago to form an in-house team dedicated to land sourcing and rezoning enables us to offer our capital partners access to such investment opportunities.”
Pierre-Alexandre Humblot, managing director, fund management and capital, ESR, said: “Repeat involvement of domestic investors will make ESR’s project funding more resilient.
“It will also bring our foreign investment partners privileged market and governance insights that position them ideally to capitalise on the unique opportunities offered by the Japanese private assets market.”
Satoshi Takeda, managing director, development, ESR Japan, said: “Our commitment to uplift our communities guides our approach to taking long-term minority stakes in large strategic land parcels to maximise their potential and value.
“Over the last four years, we have been engaging with landowners to assist in the rezoning of land and to advance our shared goal of driving economic growth for local communities with a clear roadmap for sustainable development.”
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