AXA’s real estate arm, «AXA Investment Manager - Real Assets», establishes a joint venture with international property firm Grosvenor Group and healthcare property specialist Centuria Heathley in a move to gain more high quality Australian healthcare real estate exposure.
AXA IM - Real Assets enters the joint venture with the aim of capitalizing on more high quality opportunities in the Australian healthcare real estate sector to create a diversified A$500 million ($340 million) portfolio in the near term. The fund holds two existing seed assets: Mater Women’s & Children’s Hospital in Townsville and the Westside Private Hospital, a multi-tenanted private hospital in the inner-western suburbs of Brisbane.
Centuria Heathley will be responsible for the originating assets, managing their delivery and driving asset management. Centuria Heathley currently manages various Australian assets in the healthcare sector including medical centers, day hospitals and tertiary aged care alongside established strategic relationships with specialist healthcare operators.
«Healthcare ownership in Australia is highly fragmented with minimal securitization of real estate, and we see the opportunity for AXA IM - Real Assets to become a leading institutional investor in the sector,» said Kumar Kalyanakumar, head of Australia, at AXA IM - Real Assets, which boasts a global healthcare portfolio with $2.2 billion in assets under management.
«AXA IM - Real Assets recognises the attractiveness of this sector which is underpinned by demographic trends including Australia’s aging population and longer life expectancy, along with ongoing healthcare needs of the population and the focus of stakeholders on preventative and low cost models of care in Australia.»
