The initial portfolio includes six assets for a purchase price of $US965 million ($1.42 billion). The fund will invest mainly in the Japanese cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka in diversified assets across the office, industrial, retail and multi-family sectors. The fund aims to grow to JPY 200 billion ($US1.8 billion) in three years and JPY 300 billion ($US2.7 billion) in five years.

“We are excited to launch our first private open-ended core fund in Asia with a sizeable initial portfolio that, given its high asset quality, potential to generate strong recurring cash flows and desirable locations, directly aligns with the vehicle’s investment parameters,” LaSalle Asia-Pacific CEO Mark Gabbay said.

“Japan’s large, transparent real estate market is one we know very well, providing us with a sustainable competitive advantage as we invest into core assets. This advances some of our global and Asia-Pacific regional strategies which is to target core assets with stable income generation and to offer our global investors access to a suite of products comprising a diverse range of real estate investments.”

Ryota Morioka, a fund manager for the LaSalle Japan Property Fund, said strong market fundamentals across Japan, combined with transparent capital markets, depth of existing stock and high barriers to entry, make the core real estate market a compelling strategy in the current environment.

“For LaSalle Japan Property Fund, we seek to leverage our existing relationships in the office, retail, industrial and multi-family sectors to create a high-quality, diversified portfolio of stabilised core assets.”