This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
LOOKING to further grow its presence down under, Oxford Properties has acquired a 50% interest in the Investa office management platform, two years after taking over Investa Office Fund.
Macquarie Group previously held the half share through its MIRA Real Estate arm.
Oxford, the real estate arm of Canadian pension fund Omers, now holds a half share in Investa Office Management Holdings (IOMH), which is the owner of the Investa Management Platform (IOM) that has almost $12 billion in assets under management.
The remaining 50% of IOMH is owned by Investa Commercial Property Fund Holdings Limited (ICPFHL), stapled to core prime office fund Investa Commercial Property Fund (ICPF).
Oxford completed its $3.4 billion acquisition of the formerly-listed Investa Office Fund (IOF), now Oxford Investa Property Partnership (OIPP) late in 2018. IOM became Oxford’s local property, development and asset management partner for its portfolio of assets.
The partnership then launched a strategic divestment program of 13 assets from the original IOF portfolio, which has has raised $2.8 billion in proceeds, secured 109,000 sqm of office space leasing, and undertaken redevelopments at 388 George St and 347 Kent St in Sydney.
IOM will act as Oxford’s partner across all of Oxford commercial office assets in Australia, and will also work with Oxford on implementing its build to rent strategy in the country, beginning with the Pitt Street South over-station development project in Sydney.
“The investment gives Oxford immediate access to a best-in-class operating platform, which will become our partner as we look to grow our presence in Australia,” Alec Harper, head of Australia at Oxford said.
David Matheson, head of Asia Pacific at Oxford, added, “Australia is one of our highest conviction markets and our largest presence in Asia Pacific. The investment is a natural fit; our investment into IOMH gives immediate scale to our on-the-ground capabilities in Australia and will accelerate our ability to deploy capital in this market.
