AustralianSuper said on Monday it would invest A$1 billion ($650.10 million) into a new British accommodation investment vehicle, as it aims to become a top rental home operator in the country in the next five years.
Australia’s largest pension fund, with nearly A$388 billion of assets under management, said the first investment would fund a student accommodation development in Bristol.
The UK Living platform will focus on accommodation investment in high-demand urban centres near universities and high-growth industries, AustralianSuper said.
The announcement comes as some of Australia’s top pension fund bosses will meet in London on Monday with government and financial industry leaders as part of an investment summit.
Australia’s A$4.3 trillion retirement fund system, known as superannuation, receives inflows of about A$4 billion a week, according to industry estimates, making it the fourth-largest retirement savings pool globally.
AustralianSuper Deputy Chief Investment Officer Damian Moloney said the fund planned to make 8 billion pounds ($10.75 billion) of new investments in the UK in the next five years.
The Australian fund said it currently holds about 11 billion pounds of investments in the country in real assets, private credit, fixed income, cash and listed equities.
($1 = 0.7442 pounds)
($1 = 1.5382 Australian dollars)
Reuters
