AustralianSuper's $400 million King Cross, London deal
Australia’s largest pension fund AustralianSuper has reportedly agreed to buy a 20% stake in King’s Cross Central for £200 million (A$396m) London.
AustralianSuper beat off competition from overseas sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East and investment groups in the Far East, Property Week revealed.
AustralianSuper has more than two million members and over $75 billion under management.
It is the second UK deal in two years following its purchase of a 50% stake in the Milton Keynes regional shopping centre for £270 million in 2013.
At 67 acres, King’s Cross Central is a large mixed-use development being developed since 2001.
On completion it will include Google’s new European head office. Argent, DHL and London and Continental Railways appointed Rothschild and GM Real Estate to sell the stake in late 2014, and it is believed the deal was agreed in the past few days.
Last year AustralianSuper signalled its intention to aggressively build a $10 billion property portfolio by 2016.
AustralianSuper head of property Jack McGougan currently manages just over $6 billion of real estate investments.