Hong Kong-headquartered real estate private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners has acquired Japanese residential assets in prime locations in Tokyo and other major cities in Japan for an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition was made through Gaw’s separately managed account held by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), according to an announcement.
The transaction covers 21 assets in Tokyo, three in Nagoya, five in Osaka and one each in Kyoto, Yokohama, and Sapporo. The seed portfolio consists of a total gross floor area of 68,432 square meters.
“We are delighted to partner with QIA to create this multi-family portfolio, and will further acquire high-quality residential assets across major cities in Japan,” said Christina Gaw, managing principal and global head of capital markets and co-chair of alternative investments at Gaw Capital Partners.
Japan’s residential rents have historically displayed stronger resilience in an unfavorable market environment compared to other asset classes and the occupancy rates have remained resilient during the pandemic, Gaw Capital said.
The PE firm entered the Japanese market in 2014 through its first investment in Hyatt Regency Osaka. It successfully exited the investment in the second-largest hotel deal in Osaka in 2016.
Recently, the company completed the acquisition of a property in Fuchu Intelligent Park for redevelopment into a Tier III data centre, and also completed the $3 -billion privatisation of Office J-REIT.
Gaw said it teamed up with Dallas-based Invesco Real Estate for the privatisation of Invesco Office J-REIT Inc, which comprises 18 fully stabilised Grade A/B office assets primarily in Tokyo.
The PE firm has raised seven commingled funds targeting the Greater China and Asia-Pacific regions since 2005. The firm also manages value-add/opportunistic funds in Vietnam and the US, a Pan-Asia Hospitality Fund, a European Hospitality Fund, a Growth Equity Fund and provides services for separate account direct investments globally.