UniSuper, the $120 billion superannuation fund open to all Australians, has acquired a prime 50% interest in a 340K sqm industrial property portfolio comprising 20 assets across Sydney and Melbourne, in a deal worth over $500 million AUD. The portfolio was purchased from the National Pension Service of Korea.

Of the 20 portfolio assets, 12 are located in the Quarry Industrial Estate in Greater Western Sydney, widely recognised as one of the country's premier industrial estates. The remaining eight assets are situated in the highly sought after core industrial market of Truganina, Melbourne.

The modern portfolio is underpinned by an excellent tenant profile including companies such as Coles, Toll, Northline, Roche, Blackwoods, Symbion, and UPS.

The acquisition was negotiated on behalf of UniSuper by real estate investment management firm Richmond Bridge under an industrial property investment mandate, while Cushman & Wakefield's Tony Iuliano and Adrian Rowse represented the vendor. UniSuper will invest alongside existing co-owners Dexus and Blackstone in this venture.

 Nick Stephens, Senior Manager Property at UniSuper commented, “We are delighted to acquire this high-quality portfolio of stabilised income producing assets to complement our existing industrial development pipeline in the strongly performing logistics sector. The investment adds to our $7.3 billion unlisted property portfolio. The transaction highlights UniSuper’s ability to transact swiftly without the need for debt funding or regulatory approvals. As genuine long-term investors, we continue to look for unique opportunities that help our members grow their retirement savings."

Peter Wylie, Chief Investment Officer at Richmond Bridge, said  "We are pleased to have successfully concluded this transaction, capitalizing on a market with fewer buyers, which allowed us to secure these high-quality assets at an attractive entry price. When presented with the opportunity to assess this portfolio for UniSuper, we did not hesitate, recognizing the rarity of such offerings in the market. We are immensely grateful to the UniSuper team for their collaboration, enabling us to accomplish an extensive amount of work within a short timeframe."

The portfolio deal, which was managed by Cushman & Wakefield's International Director Head of Industrial & Logistics ANZ Tony Iuliano and National Director Adrian Rowse.

Tony Iuliano, Cushman & Wakefield's International Director Head of Industrial & Logistics said the weight of Capital is heavily focussed on the Asia Pacific region.  “We are seeing Capital being very strategic and heavily focussed on premium grade assets as opposed to taking on long dated risk . This Global process identified multiple participants and has now set the benchmark to price discovery in the most sought-after asset class globally and in particular within Australia”.