ART makes $500m investment in Dexus

Dexus has raised more than $600 million in new institutional investments for its flagship Dexus Wholesale Property Fund, including a $500 million commitment representing one of the largest single investments made in an Australian open ended property fund.

Financial Standard understands the $500 million commitment was made by Australian Retirement Trust (ART).

The investment from ART is the first through a capital partnership with the major Australian superannuation fund. The remaining $100 million represents investments from a combination of existing and new institutional investors.

Dexus chief executive Ross Du Vernet said the investment demonstrated the quality of the platform Dexus was building.

"This investment is a strong endorsement of our real asset management capability and focus on delivering compelling returns for all investors on our funds management platform," Du Vernet said.

"Attracting and deepening significant new institutional capital relationships in the current environment reflects the quality of the fund's portfolio and our team's commitment to deliver for clients.

Du Vernet added Dexus is growing its funds management business through a focus on delivering outperformance and selectively expanding its new and existing relationships.

"This is a key plank of our strategy to build a diversified, capital-efficient business where our strong balance sheet is enhanced with a growing share of earnings from managing real assets and capital for our partners," he said.

These transactions were executed as secondary trades, with Dexus saying it reflects strong investor demand for access to high-quality assets and will support both existing investor liquidity needs and selective growth opportunities.