Barings finds a home in accommodation plays

The global property manager is setting a fierce pace in student accommodation and build-to-rent deals.

Global real estate investment manager Barings has bolstered its real estate debt activities by striking three new loans in Australia and New Zealand worth more than $320.4m, with a weighting towards emerging accommodation sectors.

The company is forging into both student and build-to-rent housing at a time when some traditional lenders are still getting to grips with the areas or are trimming property lending.

In Sydney, the manager has provided two loans totalling $162.5m to student accommodation operator Scape, to fund the construction of two purpose-built complexes with a total of 517 beds. In Brisbane, Barings gave $40.3m to a five-year investment facility on a just completed, build-to-rent project in Brisbane. Developed and managed by Arklife for ADCO Constructions, the project has 89 apartments, 200sqm of offices and 140sqm of retail.

Meanwhile, in NZ, Barings has realised its investment in a $NZ130m loan to listed developer Winton Land. The loan funds the remaining site works and subdivision of 1375 residential lots and four commercial units in Te Kauwhata, North Island. The residential lots are 84 per cent pre-sold to the NZ government.

Barings’ head of Europe and Asia-Pacific real estate debt, Sam Mellor, said that expanding the loan book in the region was an important step in growing the global real estate debt business. This now spans more than $US30.6bn of commitments, and the firm was lending in 14 countries.

“We are uniquely positioned to provide financing solutions for borrowers as we have capital available across the risk return spectrum from senior core loans, whole loan transitional loans out to construction lending and see a real opportunity in the APAC markets, driven by a gap in financing from traditional lenders,” he said.

The communal pool & games room at the Scape international student housing accommodation in Redfern, Sydney. Picture: Bianca De Marchi/NCA NewsWire

Mr Mellor said that residential real estate in Australia and NZ offered “an attractive supply-and-demand dynamic”.

“The breadth of these loans, which include build-to-rent, purpose-built student accommodation and other residential sectors, is a strong signifier of our capabilities in this market and we are very keen to identify more such opportunities,” he said.

Barings has committed heavily to expanding in the region. It acquired local manager Altis Property Partners, in August, adding its 44 investment professionals to Barings’ real estate platform

The manager is looking to grow its local loan book across residential, student housing, logistics, A-grade offices and, selectively, in hospitality.

“We will continue to reinforce our local expertise, which coupled with our global insights ensures we are well-placed to continue developing our already healthy pipeline of new projects,” he said.

Barings has appointed Abhishek Srivastava as a senior analyst in Sydney. He had worked for Commonwealth Bank and Macquarie Group.