Australian investment manager Gateway Capital has launched a new core logistics fund, which expects to hold an initial A$800m (€447m) portfolio along the east coast of Australia.
The manager has invested A$75m to acquire the 12 Kangaroo Avenue facility in Eastern Creek, Sydney, which, with two other properties in Sydney and Melbourne, has become the A$186m seed portfolio for the Gateway Capital Industrial and Logistics Partnership (GILP).
Stuart Dawes, co-founder and Gateway Capital CEO, told IPE Real Assets that several foreign institutions committed equity to GILP. Despite an increasingly crowded market for logistics funds, he said institutional interest remained strong for the right assets.
“We have been able to acquire core assets at very attractive prices,” Dawes said, adding that the fund had a two-pronged strategy - core plus and value-add.
“This approach complements the existing Gateway Capital funds that focus on either core plus or value add opportunities, and as such, provides Gateway Capital with a broader scope to seek attractive acquisition opportunities.”
Peter McDonald, co-founder and Gateway Capital CIO, said: ”This acquisition is another example of Gateway Capital acquiring modern and functional buildings well below replacement cost.
“The Australian industrial and logistics market will continue to be powered by strong population growth well into the future. This Western Sydney precinct ranks within the top quartile of locations in Australia with regards to future population growth and improving road infrastructure - two of the biggest valuation drivers in our market.”
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