ARA Private Funds inks more than US$460m of property deals in H1

Singapore

THE private funds division of ARA Asset Management closed over US$460 million worth of real estate transactions in the first half this year, the fund manager announced in a press statement on Tuesday.

"This marks a strong, acquisitive year for APF (ARA Private Funds), which acquired a well-located office building in Singapore's fringe CBD (Central Business District), and a B-Grade office building in the heart of Brisbane's CBD earlier this year," ARA Asset Management said.

In March this year, Warburg Pincus-backed ARA Asset Management announced that it had acquired a commercial block in 133 Mary Street, Brisbane, for a reported A$96.5 million (S$89.9 million).

The company had also jointly acquired Manulife Centre at 51 Bras Basah Road for about S$555.5 million, together with British property group Chelsfield earlier in January.

Subject to due diligence, APF is scheduled to sign a further US$700 million of pipeline assets by the fourth quarter this year. These include two prime office buildings, a community retail mall and another co-living asset.

David Kim, acting CEO of APF, said: "Our robust pipeline highlights our ability to source attractive deals, especially off-market opportunities, in key gateway cities of Asia-Pacific where we have 'boots-on-the-ground', and a well-established investment track record, enabling competitive advantages and the ability to deploy investor capital judiciously.

"Looking ahead, the team will continue its de-risked value-add strategy, seeking underperforming, undervalued income-generating assets in the deep, liquid gateway markets in Asia-Pacific."

As at end-2018, ARA's assets under management stands at S$80.1 billion, more than double the S$35.6 billion at the point of its privatisation in April 2017. This growth was fuelled by both mergers and acquisitions, as well as organic expansion.