Ascendas-Singbridge, the Singapore-based real estate developer and fund manager, has struck its first office deal in Australia with the acquisition of a Sydney property.
The firm has acquired the Innovation Place, a Grade A commercial building located close to Sydney’s business district, using capital from its debut pan Asia open-ended core office fund. This is the first investment to be made from the Ascendas Asia-Pacific Core Office Fund that has only recently come to market with an initial capital raising target of S$2 billion (€1.32 billion; $1.44 billion).
“With this entry into the commercial office market in Australia, we hope to replicate the success we have had with other asset classes. While we continue to derive value from the best-in-class assets we invest in we continue to be on the lookout for others that will bolster our growth,” said Jonathan Yap, chief investment officer of Ascendas-Singbridge.
The property has been acquired from a Sydney-based developer Townwood Pty, and will be renamed Ascendas Innovation Place. The 20 story tower is spread over a 294,877 square feet has offices and retail outlets.
Following this deal, Ascendas-Singbridge has $2 billion in assets under management in Australia. The firm made a blazing entry into the country with the landmark acquisition of a 27-property logistics property portfolio from the Singaporean state fund GIC Private via the Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust late last year.
Australia is also one of the key target deployment markets along with Singapore, Japan and South Korea for the Ascendas Asia-Pacific Core Office Fund. The fund corpus will be specifically be invested in longer-term income producing assets in these four markets. A first close of $500 million for the vehicle is expected to be held by June this year.
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