Macquarie Goodman Asia creates Japanese alliance

Macquarie Goodman Asia has announced it is creating a Japanese business alliance in the logistics market. The Australian banking and property giant is buying a majority stake in Japan Representative (J-REP) – a company which specialising in brokerage, asset management and development in the Japanese industrial sector. It will buy A$304m (£126m) of new shares in J-REP giving them a 53% shareholding. Macquarie Goodman Asia is a joint venture between property company Macquarie Goodman and Macquarie Bank which launched a Hong Kong wholesale fund in 2006 and now has a portfolio valued at A$1bn (£417m). The alliance follows the jv’s strategy of identifying markets to create specialist property funds to satisfy the increasing demand for property investments. Gregory Goodman, chief executive officer of Macquarie Goodman Group, said: “The growth prospects for the platform in Japan are very exciting which combined with the revenue benefits we can derive from our global customer and investor base creates an excellent investment prospect for us. “J-REP’s experienced management team remain committed to the business going forward.  “We look forward to realising the full potential of the business with the backing of Macquarie Goodman Asia.” James Hodgkinson, co-head of Macquarie Bank’s real estate capital division, added, “Japan is a large and exciting market that presents a great opportunity in the logistics space. “J-REP’s local knowledge and experience combined with Macquarie Goodman Asia’s track record in development and funds creation has the potential to deliver a market leading platform in a high growth marketplace.”