Global diversified real estate investment manager Barings has acquired a prime, fully leased, industrial asset comprising two modern warehouses across 46,934 square-metre gross lettable area for A$94.1 million (US$62.5 million) in Australia.

The acquisition is the first seed asset for the new Barings and Rest industrial partnership seeking to procure a A$1 billion-plus portfolio of value-add, core-plus and develop-to-core industrial assets across Australia. Rest is one of Australia’s largest profit-to-members superannuation funds.

Located at 2-30 Saintly Drive in the established core industrial precinct of Truganina in Western Melbourne within 18 kilometres of the Melbourne central business district, the property attracts large-scale tenants due to its proximity to existing key road infrastructure. The property will also benefit from future infrastructure, including the Westgate Tunnel Project and Outer Metropolitan Ring Road.

Major tenants occupying the estate include Catch, one of Australia’s leading online retail businesses owned by Wesfarmers within the Kmart Group, and Effective Logistics, a specialized third-party logistics provider based in Australia.

James King, director of investment management at Barings Australia, says: “Our ambition is to continue to seek out both development and value-add opportunities across the major metropolitan markets of Australia.”