Australian pension fund Aware Super has unveiled plans to launch a A$10bn (£5.25bn) investment spree across the UK and Europe through its newly established London office, which opened this week.
Announcing the commitment at the Global Investment Summit (on 27 November), Aware Super said it intended to initially focus investments from its new UK headquarters on real estate, infrastructure and private equity, with an emphasis on the energy transition sector, affordable housing, innovation, life sciences, technology and the digital infrastructure sector.
Earlier this year, the pension fund, which has already invested A$17bn (£8.84bn) in UK and European assets, entered the UK residential market by acquiring a 22% stake in Get Living.
Deanne Stewart (pictured), chief executive officer of Aware Super, said: “We are thrilled to announce our commitment to the UK, one of the world’s most important and vibrant capital markets, with the opening of our first international office. Aware Super’s growth trajectory into the UK market will position us as an active, leading global institutional investor, well positioned to deliver strong risk-adjusted returns and lower fees for our Australian members while also providing exciting opportunities for our employees and communities across the UK.
“The benefits arising from the Australia United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement, UK’s ease of doing business, closely aligned culture, proximity to Europe and Northern America and warm support from the Department of Trade and Business and the City of London were also compelling factors in our decision to invest here.”
Damien Webb, deputy chief investment officer and head of international at Aware Super, has relocated to London to oversee the pension fund’s first international foothold outside of Australia.
Webb said: “Due to our rapid growth trajectory, we believe the UK is a key platform from which we can further fuel our scale ambitions and diversify our portfolio through access to dynamic investment opportunities in new private markets. The ability to access the UK’s deep investment talent pool will also further furnish our investment team’s capabilities.
“Our international expansion strategy is positioning us to operate across the largest and most attractive capital markets, to find the strongest investment opportunities and deliver strong longer-term returns and competitive fees for our members back in Australia.”
