Monday, 3 April 2023
Aware Super, Australia’s leading Build-to-Rent (BTR) investor and developer, has further diversified its global Living strategy while also expanding its overseas investment footprint with a 22% stake in Get Living, the UK’s most experienced and pioneering developer and operator of large-scale BTR neighbourhoods.
Get Living currently manages a c. £3 billion portfolio which spans 4,000 operational homes alongside a secured development pipeline of 6,500 homes. The UK BTR sector is forecast to be worth £170 billion by 2032, with the number of BTR homes expected to quadruple to 380,000.1
Aware Super’s Senior Portfolio Manager – Property, Alek Misev, said the fund’s reputation as a leader in the Australian BTR space was bolstered by its diversified and global residential property portfolio which also includes BTR investments in the Unites States and Europe.
“Aware Super is excited to partner with Get Living, a market-leading and award-winning BTR platform with a 5 Star GRESB rating for its existing assets,” he said.
“Our investment in Get Living complements the fund’s leadership in Australia’s BTR and affordable housing markets, and with our combined expertise we can build a solid foundation to ensure the UK's BTR housing market meets the growing demand.”
“Most importantly, this investment will also offer our members strong, risk-adjusted returns and diversification benefits in a key-strategic region for Aware Super, within a sector that has shown strong resilience during economic downturns, and attractive long-term macroeconomic and demographic fundamentals.”
In Australia, Aware Super has already committed $A1.5 billion to further build the fund’s residential portfolio to include 1,250 affordable housing units by 2025. The fund also launched Aware Real Estate in September 2022 to host up to $A7 billion in assets within five years and to actively manage its directlyowned Australian living, industrial and mixed-use property portfolio.
Aware Super’s Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Head of International, Damien Webb, also hailed the announcement as the latest example of Aware Super’s international expansion strategy, which will extend the fund’s footprint to other developed and important capital markets, such as the UK.
”Strategic initiatives, like expanding our developed market footprint and building for growth, will ensure we are able to continue to deliver strong long-term returns and the next significant FUM milestone of $A250 billion by 2026,” Mr Webb said.
”Opportunities such as Get Living will not only fuel our scale and allow us to deliver on our investment strategy on behalf of our members, but will provide further diversification so we keep delivering our members strong risk-adjusted returns and lower fees.”
He added the investment complemented the fund’s recent announcement regarding the opening of its London office.
“Our London office is a key plank of our boots-on-the-ground strategy and is a key uplift in terms of our capability and management.”
The Get Living Investment is the latest investment outside of Australia for the fund which includes Forth Ports, Heathrow Airport, Vivenio, City ID and Kemble Water Finance as part of its current European portfolio.
Aware Super purchased Qatari Diar’s 22% stake in Get Living and will now join existing investors APG and DOOR – a residential investment vehicle comprising investment from Delancey client funds Oxford Properties, Alectra and Allianz – which each own a 39% stake.
Rick De Blaby, CEO of Get Living, said: “In Aware Super, we are extremely privileged to have a long-term, purpose-driven and mature investor and I look forward to working closely with their team, as they join our other valued investors in APG and DOOR.
“Aware Super’s backing of Get Living is a huge vote of confidence in our business, which gives us real firepower to drive ambitious growth plans, in service to all our investors. “
Get Living was launched in 2013 to operate 1,500 homes in the former Olympic Village in Stratford, the UK’s first large-scale residential neighbourhood. Today, the company manages 4,000 homes across London and Manchester with a further 6,500 in a near-term pipeline across Lewisham, Maidenhead, Leatherhead, Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow.
Over the last two years, new neighbourhoods have also been secured in Birmingham, Maidenhead and Leatherhead, all of which are currently under construction, extending Get Living’s reach across the UK. These are in addition to the major mixed-use redevelopment of Elephant and Castle Town Centre, which received a £365 million development loan early in 2022 to kickstart construction.
1 Research from Savills and the British Property Federation, supported by Get Living