TH Real Estate launches Asia Pacific cities platform | News

TH Real Estate has launched an innovative open-ended property mandate focusing on selected cities across Asia Pacific.

This mandate is the fourth in the firm's global resilient cities series and will invest in selected 'future-proof' cities across the region, following the same investment theme adopted by its existing range of resilient cities funds.

The mandate, aimed at institutional investors, focuses on 17 principal and progressive cities across Asia Pacific. These cities have been selected using TH Real Estate’s proprietary research filter, identifying 90 cities globally which TH Real Estate believe are best positioned to take advantage of demographic and structural growth. Tokyo, Sydney, Brisbane, Singapore and Seoul are among the 17 cities identified for investment. The Fund will focus on office, retail, industrial and residential assets.

The mandate has also secured its first asset in Sydney, Australia’s largest and most liquid institutional real estate market. The office asset, 183 Clarence Street (pictured), is centrally positioned within the CBD precinct known as the 'western corridor'. The property is being developed by a well-known local developer, Built, and will provide c.7,900 sq m (c.85,000 sq ft) of high-specification commercial space across 12 floors. It will be targeting a 5 Star NABERS Energy rating and 5 Star Green Star Rating, positioning it ahead of market performance on sustainability.

Louise Kavanagh, Managing Director, adds: "Our Asia Pacific Cities mandate is designed to offer investors access to what we term as ‘future-proof’, sustainable and resilient cities in an exciting growing region. We have a strong heritage in core investments, as well as on-the-ground Asia Pacific investment and asset management capabilities. We will use a granular approach to stock selection, focusing on asset and Sub-market drivers to complement our cities-based approach, and enhance returns for our clients. Our long-term investment approach seeks strong returns through market cycles, underpinned by structural trends for long-term growth, tapping into Asia Pacific’s growing economic dominance.

We are delighted to have secured our first asset for the mandate. Sydney a key investment market for the mandate, experiencing healthy rental growth and prevailing demand fundamentals, making it a great addition in our portfolio."

Harry Tan, Head of Research, Asia Pacific, comments: "Asia Pacific is the epicentre of a number of megatrends that we are seeing today, whether it is the shift in economic power from west to east, urbanisation or the rise of the middle class. We believe Asia Pacific cities carry strong promise in tomorrow’s world, and an allocation into the region may allow investors to enhance value to their global portfolio, through regional diversification and additional benefits from variances across cities."

TH Real Estate’s parent company, TIAA, has committed an initial co-investment of US$200 million. The mandate has an overall target size of over US$2 billion over a five-year period. The platform follows on from the success of TH Real Estate’s flagship European Cities mandate, launched in 2016, which invests in income-producing properties in 'future-proof' cities across Europe. 2018 has already seen the launch of two other platforms in their global cities series – a global cities REIT, in partnership with Nuveen, which has seen TH Real Estate extend its global cities offering to retail investors in the U.S., and a product focussing on retail opportunities in key U.S. cities.

TH Real Estate’s resilient global cities series applies strategies designed to focus on diversification, income and long-term capital growth. These strategies focus on investing in high-quality assets in leading cities that are well-positioned in terms of long-term structural trends, including demographic change, urbanisation and technology.