Real estate investment agency Harris Associates has struck a strategic partnership with Singapore-based consultancy Edmund Tie as it looks to bring more Asian capital into the UK.
The two firms have agreed a tie-up that will see them work together on outbound Asian investment into office, industrial and student accommodation deals in the UK.
Jonathan Harris, chief executive and founding partner at Harris Associates, told EG the hunt for a regional partner began after a trip to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand in mid-2019, during which he and Jamie Harris, head of student accommodation, met with investors keen to tap into the UK’s PBSA market.
“The partnership provides such a significant growth in our global reach,” Harris said. “What Edmund Tie provides in terms of access is the most exclusive and untapped Asian capital investors into the UK market. And this is not short-term. We entered into this partnership very much as a long-term business strategy together.”
The Harris Associates team approached Edmund Tie chief executive Desmond Sim early this year.
“To put it bluntly, Jonathan swiped right, I also swiped right, and we matched,” Sim said. Edmund Tie has a workforce of some 400 professionals across offices in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
“It’s a good match, an extension of our reach into the UK,” Sim said. “It’s almost like Spurs having [Korean player] Son Heung-min – now everybody in Korea knows who Spurs are.”
Sim added: “Capital chasing yields away from Singapore would probably look towards the UK because that’s where you can get higher yields and longer tenure.”
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