Australia: Greystar has bought an Australian PBSA portfolio from Singapore property group Wee Hur and sovereign fund GIC.
The sale price was A$1.6 billion(£800 million) landmarks Greystar’s first move in the Australian PBSA sector. Wee Hur had a 50.1 per cent interest in the portfolio of 5,500 beds and GIC held the remaining 49.9 per cent.
The assets are located in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra.
Greystar executive director of investment management for Asia Pacific, Adam Pillay, said: “Australia’s student housing sector is experiencing strong demand, driven by its world-class education institutions, a growing international student population, and an undersupply of institutional-quality housing.”
“The acquisition represents the final step in rounding out our Global Student Accommodation footprint that comprises over 110,000 beds across North America and Europe prior to the transaction. The deal expands Greystar’s assets under management in the region by a third to $4 billion across Australia, Japan and China,” he added.
Wee Hur has retained a 13 per cent stake in the portfolio through a subsidiary. It entered the PBSA market in 2015 with its first asset in Brisbane. It launched the Wee Hur PBSA Master Trust in 2016 with the goal of creating a portfolio of 5,000 beds across key Australian cities.
In 2022, GIC affiliate Reco Weather Private bought a 49.9 per cent stake in the Wee Hur PBSA Master Trust for A$568 million (£285 million).
Goh Wee Ping, CEO of Wee Hur Capital, said: “This divestment highlights Wee Hur Capital’s exceptional ability to execute its strategic vision and deliver superior returns for its investors, regardless of market conditions. In 2021-2022, amidst global uncertainty, we acted decisively to secure liquidity and certainty through our successful recap with Reco. Two years later, as the PBSA market rebounded and our portfolio approached full stabilisation, we capitalised on yet another opportunity to unlock maximum value for our stakeholders through this landmark transaction.”
