LaSalle Investment Management is aiming to spend up to £6.65bn ($12bn) on property in Asia following the final closing of its third opportunity fund for the continent.
LaSalle said today it had raised $3bn (£1.6bn) of equity which, with leverage would provide the fund manager with a buying power of between $10bn-$12bn (£5.54bn-£6.65bn).
LaSalle said it expects its assets under management in Asia to double in the next three years as the fund becomes invested. LaSalle currently manages approximately $11bn (£6.1bn) of Asian property.
Philip Ling, managing director of LaSalle Investment Management, said: ‘Asia remains a key strategic priority for our business and we have a very active plan to grow our operations in the region.’
The close of this latest fund comes shortly after the close of LaSalle Japan Logistics Fund II late last year, raising JPY 90bn (£454m), providing a total buying power of JPY 260bn-360bn (£1.33bn-£1.83bn).
Ling said: ‘We see a lot of opportunity in Japan, which contains 50% of the total value of real estate assets in Asia, although we also see opportunities in Korea, China and elsewhere in Asia Pacific.’
‘We will continue investing in large scale, modern warehouses in Japan through JLF II, as we believe this sector offers a lot of potential, with highly efficient warehouses still comprising a very small proportion of the overall storage market.’