L&G has agreed a deal to acquire a 75% stake in global real estate investor Proprium for an undisclosed price.
Founded in 2013, Proprium is a spin-out of the Morgan Stanley Real Estate special situations team, which focuses on investing in real estate operating companies with scalable investment themes and experienced management teams.
Proprium is active across the residential, student accommodation, hospitality and logistics sectors, and its current investments include Admiral Taverns in the UK, a&o hotels in Germany and Avid in Australia.
Proprium’s management team will continue to operate independently from an operational day-to-day perspective, maintaining its current leadership structure, teams and investment process.
Eric Adler, CEO, asset management at L&G, said: “Recognising that international scale in private markets is key to delivering against L&G’s growth strategy, this strategic investment in Proprium will expand our geographical footprint, deepen our capabilities, broaden our investment strategies, and diversify our product offering. Through this acquisition, we are bringing clients a differentiated and diversified opportunity to access value creation in real estate sectors positioned for growth and scalability.”
Bill Hughes, global head of private markets at L&G, added: “In the last 12 months, we have significantly accelerated the growth of our private markets platform, laying the foundations for achieving our ambitious target of £85bn by 2028. This growth trajectory is fuelled by our commitment to deliver exceptional investment outcomes that attract third party capital, and today’s announcement further demonstrates our strategic direction and plans in action.
“The partnership with Proprium will strengthen L&G’s investment capabilities and broaden our product offering, allowing us to bring a select range of strategies that aim to deliver the higher returns that many global investors are seeking. Benefiting from Proprium’s expertise and entrepreneurial approach, combined with L&G’s scale and balance sheet capital to catalyse opportunities, we believe the partnership will unlock substantial growth in new markets and drive significant value for our clients.”
Tim Morris and Philipp Westermann, co-managing partners of Proprium Capital Partners, said: “Today’s announcement is testament to the strength of Proprium’s track record in delivering strong, risk-adjusted returns for investors. On behalf of the Proprium team, we are incredibly excited about the partnership with L&G, their financial backing and growth ambitions. Their investment opens new doors to international markets as L&G builds out its global real estate business, representing a significant milestone in the evolution of our platform at a time of immense opportunity.”
