Sydney. Photo: Shutterstock.comMinterEllison, Herbert Smith Freehills Act on Australia's Largest 2019 Property Deal
The portfolio is composed of 6,805 beds across student dorms in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide, and was sold by student real estate provider Urbanest to the Scape Core Fund (SCF).
December 18, 2019 at 02:50 PM
2 minute read
Australian law firm MinterEllison has advised on the sale of a A$2 billion (US$1.37 billion) portfolio of student accommodations while Herbert Smith Freehills acted for the purchasers in the country's largest property transaction of the year.
The portfolio, comprising 6,805 beds across student dorms in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide, was sold by student real estate provider Urbanest to the Scape Core Fund (SCF).
The sale represents a significant milestone for student accommodation provider Scape in its continued Australian expansion, making it one of the country's leading purpose-built student accommodation owners and operators, Herbert Smith Freehills said in a statement.
"We are delighted to have supported Scape on this truly iconic transaction, and to see them continue to emerge as a standout player in student accommodation in Australia," Herbert Smith Freehills' head of real estate in Australia/Asia, David Sinn, said in a statement.
"This is an exciting time for the sector, with significant growth across the country in recent years, and we've no doubt Scape will continue to go from strength to strength."
The transaction was led by key members of Herbert Smith Freehills' real estate, finance and corporate teams in Melbourne and Sydney.
The MinterEllison team was led by partners Leah Wright and Wissam Abwi, and they were supported by five other partners: John Brimacombe, Lisa Jarrett, Paul Schoff, Paul Ingram and Jeremy Hill.
MinterEllison's role involved running the competitive sale process for Urbanest, and negotiating and managing the complex transaction across a range of structuring and regulatory considerations, the firm said.
SCF is a joint venture between AXA IM, Allianz Real Estate and APG Asset Management, and the three investors will inject approximately A$1.5 billion (US$1 billion) in equity commitments into SCF by the time the Urbanest acquisition completes early next year, said HWL Ebsworth, which acted for AXA IM.
The HWL Ebsworth corporate and commercial team was led by partner James Lonie and the firm's tax team was led by partner Nima Sedaghat, the firm said in a statement
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