Savills IM builds up Australian exposure for German investors

Savills Investment Management has made two acquisitions totalling AUD90m (€63.8m) in Australia for an Asia-Pacific fund that caters to German institutional investors.

In the same week that it acquired a suburban shopping centre in Brisbane, it was revealed that Savills IM had made its debut Australian investment in December, buying four-star serviced apartment hotel in Perth.

The assets were bought for Savills IM Asia Pacific Fund, previously known as SEB Asia REI, which was set up in 2012 as an open-ended core fund. Savills IM bought the real estate business of SEB in 2015.

The regulated Spezialfonds vehicle for German institutional investors already owned assets in Singapore and Japan worth around AUD300m.

The news comes a week after BlackRock invested in Australia on behalf of its Asia-Pacific Spezialfonds for German investors.

Savills IM is seeking to raise more capital for its fund to invest in core and core-plus assets in established markets in Asia-Pacific.

Lee Tredwell, head of investments for Australia at Savills IM, told IPE Real Estate: “These two investments fit well into our strategy because of the high occupancy and long lease expiry.

The Brisbane shopping centre is let to supermarket chain Woolworths, and the Queensland Government. The hotel is leased to 2031 and is located in Perth’s central business district.

“They dovetail with the fund’s diversification approach of investing across multiple asset classes, comprising office, retail, logistics, hospitality and residential.”

Tredwell, who is responsible for managing and sourcing assets in Australia, having joined Savills IM earlier this year, said: “We are still looking at a number of additional opportunities.”

Savills IM opened its Australian office in May last year. “With a team on the ground, we see our [Australian] business growing, with more of our funds and mandates looking to invest here,” Tredwell said.

There is strong appetite for Australian assets among investors in Savills IM’s funds and mandates, he said.