TIAA Henderson wins London office mandate for AustralianSuper

TIAA Henderson Real Estate has been appointed investment manager to AustralianSuper, the A$75 bn (€51 bn) Australian superannuation fund, for its emerging central London office property investment strategy.

The mandate follows TH Real Estate’s appointment as investment manager last year for AustralianSuper’s UK shopping centre strategy. The fund went on to complete an initial £270 mln acquisition in December.

Jack McGougan, head of property at AustralianSuper, said: ‘This mandate is an ideal fit for AustralianSuper. The UK office market – central London in particular – sits well with our investment approach. It has a record of strong returns over the long term, transparency, good liquidity and a positive overall economic outlook, among a range of attributes.’

AustralianSuper plans to significantly grow its global property investment portfolio over the next five years. It currently owns a A$6 bn real estate portfolio across Australia, the UK and elsewhere.

TH Real Estate has built up a A$1.5 bn-plus portfolio of office assets across Central London including developments and standing investments.

Nick Deacon, director of Central London Offices at TH Real Estate, said: ‘Our experience of investing into the central London office market, on behalf of a variety of clients and funds, gives TH Real Estate the ability to identify and source the best stock to meet the requirements of AustralianSuper.’

TIAA Henderson Real Estate was formed last year from the combination of the European and Asian real estate businesses of US financial services group TIAA-CREF and UK-based fund manager Henderson Global Investors.