AustralianSuper has increased its stake in a central London development.

The pension scheme – one of the biggest superannuation funds in Australia – paid £371m (€489m) for a 36.5% stake in the King’s Cross Central Partnership (KCCLP).

UK government subsidiary London & Continental Railways (LCR) sold the stake. 

AustralianSuper already held a 25% stake in the 67-acre scheme, worth approximately £200m. 

The deal, announced last year, was AustralianSuper’s first direct London investment.

The Australian fund is now the leading investor in the partnership, which includes developer Argent; Hermes Investment Management, the asset manager wholly owned by the BT Pension Scheme (BTPS); and DHL.

LCR announced it was looking for a buyer for its stake in August last year.

Jack McGougan, head of property at AustralianSuper, said: “We are pleased to have secured an increased stake in this iconic mixed use development and look forward to working with our co-investors and the Argent development team to create a vibrant, commercially successful neighbourhood in central London.”

King’s Cross includes offices, restaurants, retail, residential units and a school.

Tenants include Google and the Aga Khan Development Network.

David Clementi, chairman at KCCLP, said AustralianSuper’s increased share “demonstrates its confidence in the remaining future growth in value of King’s Cross”, with the phased scheme now in its final five years of construction.

AustralianSuper is increasing its investment in real estate. 

In 2014, it appointed TH Real Estate as mandate manager for a central London office investment strategy.

The mandate came a year after the real estate arm of Henderson Global Investors was appointed by AustralianSuper to invest in UK retail property.

In early 2014, the fund bought 50% of the Centre:mk regional shopping centre in Milton Keynes, with Hermes Investment Management owning the other half and asset managing the centre.

AustralianSuper hired Rockspring Property Investment Managers in the same year to run its direct office and retail real estate investment strategy across continental Europe.

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