GLP establishes biggest Japan-focused private real estate fund

GLOBAL investment manager GLP has raised 311 billion yen (S$3.67 billion) for the largest Japan-focused private real estate fund to date.

It is targeting 412 billion yen in total equity commitments, GLP announced in a statement on Tuesday (Oct 19).

When fully deployed, the fund, GLP Japan Development Partners IV (GLP JDP IV), is expected to exceed 1 trillion yen (S$11.79 billion) in assets under management.

It attracted commitments from pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and insurance companies across North America, Asia and the Middle East.

More than 85 per cent of the commitments were made by returning investors from the fund's immediate predecessor, the 2018-vintage, 250 billion yen GLP JDP III. The cornerstone investor in the earlier fund was the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments).

GLP JDP IV is the fourth in the Singapore-based warehouse giant's flagship logistics development fund series in Japan. The previous fundraising record was set by GLP JDP III, which has reached full capacity.

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CPP Investments committed 110 billion yen to the latest fund.

"The positive outlook for Japan’s logistics sector underpinned by the rapid growth in e-commerce has laid a solid foundation for the success of the new venture,” said Gilles Chow, managing director and head of real estate North Asia at CPP Investments.

Like its predecessor funds, GLP JDP IV will develop the next generation of modern and environmentally friendly logistics facilities in Japan, focusing on the prime Greater Tokyo and Greater Osaka regions.

Its developments will aim for green certifications, be equipped with solar panels, and include amenities such as day-care centres, restaurants and convenience stores to support the well-being of employees and local communities, according to GLP's statement.

The latest fund will also feature the company's ALFALINK concept for logistics parks, to create modernised, end-to-end, digitalised solutions for supply-chain optimisation, said Yoshiyuki Chosa, president of GLP Japan.

Ralf Wessel, managing director of fund management at GLP, noted that e-commerce and supply-chain modernisation are driving the logistics market's strength and attraction.

The firm's Japan development funds have delivered more than 2.7 million square metres of highly efficient developments. More than 80 per cent of the assets, by gross floor area, developed within those funds are green-certified.

With the establishment of GLP JDP IV, the firm manages more than US$30 billion in assets under management for logistics strategies in Japan, across five private funds and a Japan-listed real estate investment trust.

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