The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) has committed up to A$800m (€448m) to Aliro Group’s Australian industrial real estate fund.
The Canadian pension fund has joined the original cornerstone investment CBRE Investment Management in funding the Aliro Group Industrial Vehicle (AGIV), which currently owns 12 assets, valued at A$2.5bn.
Stephane Jalbert, managing director, head of Europe and Asia-Pacific at PSP Investments, said: “PSP Investments is delighted to partner with Aliro Group and CBRE IM on this logistics portfolio. This investment gives us immediate scale and access to a high-quality portfolio and development pipeline, complementing our already extensive investment portfolio in Australia, and aligning with PSP Investments’ real estate global sector convictions.”
Alex Crossing, head of APAC for CBRE IM’s Indirect business, said: “Working with the Aliro Group on AGIV since 2018 has given our clients access to a high-quality portfolio in preferred submarkets across eastern Australia. Industrial and logistics real estate has long been a preferred investment theme in the Asia Pacific.
“We believe the addition of PSP Investments’ capital will further enhance the diversification and scale of this vehicle for the benefit of all investors. We look forward to continuing supporting AGIV’s growth over time.”
Daniel Wise, co-founder, managing director and CEO at Aliro Group, said the PSP investment was one of largest from a global investor into the Australian logistics market.
“We look forward to continuing and expanding on what the Australian industrial logistics have to offer to global investors in terms of stable government, access to freehold property and an overall transparency of the market here.”
Wise told IPE Real Assets: “There had been growing interest from global and the broader Asian capital in the 12 to 18 months in Australia. So, we think the second half of the year and into next year will see new strong flows as well.”
David Southon, co-founder and executive chairman of Aliro Group, told IPE Real Assets after the initial programmatic venture with CBRE IM, the fund was now transitioning to a club-style structure. With additional capital [A$150m] from CBRE IM, two cornerstone investors have injected some A$700m of fresh equity ready for immediate deployment.
With gearing of around 45%, the vehicle’s assets under management could grow to “more than A$3.5bn and pushing towards A$4bn”.
The Aliro vehicle will focus on the capital cities on Australia’s eastern seaboard, he said.
Southon said: “The fund has the flexibility to undertake development projects, with a current 30% allocation. We are focused on identifying and unlocking value through active asset management strategies.
“We have undertaken several projects, and we have received approval for the second stage of a project in Caringbah [southern Sydney] which will be a greenfield development and when completed it will become a significant industrial estate in the area.”
The first stage has been redeveloped and fully leased.
CBRE Capital Advisors and Macquarie Capital acted as financial advisers to Aliro Group.
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