CPPIB backs GLP Japan logistics fund

GLP Japan Income Fund was seeded last month with 11 newly developed modern logistics assets in the Tokyo and Osaka areas, giving the vehicle JPY280 billion in assets under management. Most of the LPs are new to GLP and include pension funds, financial and insurance companies, and sovereign wealth funds.

CPPIB’s commitment is a re-investment of proceeds from GLP’s second Japan fund in 2016. That vehicle delivered the Canadian firm about JPY48 billion upon exit. CPPIB and GLP’s partnership traces back to 2011 when they each contributed $250 million to a 50-50 joint venture.

“The strong fundamentals in the Japanese logistics market continue to make this a compelling investment opportunity for long-term investors,” Jimmy Phua, head of Asia real estate at CPPIB, said in a statement. “We are pleased to continue our strategic relationship with GLP, one of our key global real estate partners, while recycling capital for other compelling investment opportunities.”

This is GLP’s sixth Japan vehicle since entering the market in 2002. It currently manages about $19 billion of funds in the country, including a real estate investment trust listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Last year, German financial services giant Allianz contributed $600 million to a GLP-managed fund targeting China and Japan.

GLP’s Japan operations focus heavily on the Tokyo and Osaka regions as well as automation investments aimed at addressing aging and labor shortage trends. Yoshiyuki Chosa, the president of GLP Japan, has described the country as the firm’s best performing market globally. GLP claimed to control about 25% of the modern logistics facilities in Japan as of 2018.

Competing capital in this space includes ESR, which closed its third Japan fund last year at JPY200 billion with agreements in place that could bring investment capacity as high as JPY530 billion over time. ESR, a logistics and fund management platform seeded by Warburg Pincus, will focus on large-scale pipeline projects across the Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya regions.

Formerly known as Global Logistic Properties, GLP was acquired in 2017 for $11.5 billion by a consortium including Hillhouse Capital and Hopu Investment. Its global assets under management have increased from about $43 billion at the time of the acquisition to $89 billion currently. These are managed across platforms that have recycled more than $8 billion of assets since 2012.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• North Asia
• Infrastructure
• Fundraising
• Japan
• GLP
• CPPIB
• Logistics
• Real estate