Elanor Investors Group has set up a joint venture with Japan’s Kajima Corporation to develop an Australian logistics portfolio with a target value of A$250 million ($167.8 million).

The tie-up with Kajima’s Icon Developments unit is set to kick-start the Sydney-based fund manager’s recently launched industrial division under co-heads Amneet Singh Dari and Myron Poobalasingam, both formerly of shed specialist Logos.

The JV has commenced exclusive due diligence to acquire a brownfield development opportunity in the north of Melbourne, Elanor said Thursday in a release. The Aussie firm’s previous investments in the segment include Junction Industrial Park in Sydney and a pair of warehouse facilities in the Northern Territory’s Darwin.

“We are pleased to announce the establishment of this institutional joint venture in the industrial and logistics real estate sector,” said Elanor CEO Glenn Willis. “We are positive in regard to the growth prospects for our industrial division, leveraging the group’s scalable real estate funds management platform and investment track record.”

Tightly Supplied Market

Dari said the partnership with Kajima would create an opportunity to build an industrial portfolio with a pipeline to develop high-quality industrial and logistics facilities in a supply-constrained environment.

Dari and Poobalasingam left Logos in June after more than four years at the Sydney-based developer and fund manager, which was acquired by Hong Kong-listed ESR last year. Before joining Logos, Dari worked as a fund analyst for Australian property giant Dexus and Poobalasingam served as a development manager for construction heavyweight Lendlease.

Elanor has A$6.2 billion in funds under management across Australia and New Zealand, focusing on real estate in the office, healthcare, retail, hotel, tourism/leisure and industrial sectors.

In the past year, the ASX-listed firm has secured commitments from state-backed investors including the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, which supported Elanor’s purchase of the real estate fund management business of investment manager Challenger; and Malaysia’s Permodalan Nasional Berhad, which provided cash for the recapitalisation of the Elanor Healthcare Real Estate Fund.

Outbound Upswing

Tokyo-based Kajima’s outbound real estate plays have included last year’s pursuit of the Nehsons Building in Singapore’s Peck Seah Street for a reported S$111.1 million (now $83.6 million), with plans to redevelop the ageing, nine-storey block into a mixed-use project.

The Peck Seah Street pickup would add to Kajima’s growing portfolio of Singapore office towers, including 55 Market Street, a 16-storey building in Raffles Place acquired from AEW for S$287 million.

In Australia, Kajima has acquired local construction and real estate development firms and engaged in construction projects. Kajima Australia also provides construction management services for pharmaceutical firms in the US and Asia, as well as theme-park-related projects worldwide.