Global real estate investment firm LaSalle Investment Management is acquiring Australian fund manager Trinity Funds Management in a bid to increase its Australian assets to A$5 billion (S$6.5 billion) by 2016.
With Trinity Funds Management’s A$9.3 million price tag, LaSalle is expected to have approximately A$1.7 billion worth of assets in Australia.
The firm, which is a property investment arm of Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), has been acquiring office and hotel assets and has exposure to residential developments.
“Trinity Funds Management is a starting point, not the end game,” said Philip Ling, Chief Executive of LaSalle Investment Management Asia Pacific.
He noted that “LaSalle’s three- to five-year goal is to be a top 10 local manager and the leading global real estate investment manager operating in Australia, with assets under management of A$5 billion.”
He said that Trinity Property Trust, Trinity Funds Management’s flagship open-ended fund, will be renamed the LaSalle Australia Core-Plus Fund.
The company also plans to grow the new asset to A$1 billion, from the current A$580 million, over the next four to five years.
“I’ve spoken to all the investors in the fund and they are keen to see the fund grow over time to approximately A$1 billion,” said Ling, noting that it will consider acquiring office and retail assets in Australia.
In addition, LaSalle Investment said last week that it will invest in a residential development in Sydney, with Australia’s property developer Toga Group.
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