HWL Ebsworth has acted for AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) on the completion of the acquisition by the Scape Core Fund (SCF) of the Urbanest portfolio of student accommodation housing for approximately $2.2 billion. SCF is a joint venture between AXA IM, Allianz Real Estate and APG Asset Management.
The Urbanest deal completed on 1 May 2020 and was last year’s largest single property transaction. The completion of the Urbanest deal has almost doubled Scape’s existing size as SCF acquired 14 Urbanest purpose-built student accommodation properties which span across Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane, totalling approximately 7000 student rooms.
The completion of the Urbanest deal follows the SCF acquisition of the Atira portfolio of 6 purpose-built student accommodation properties in Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane for approximately A$680 million in September 2019.
The HWL Ebsworth corporate and commercial team consisted of Partner James Lonie, Special Counsel Natalya Hards and Associate Wai Lam Au. The HWL Ebsworth corporate and commercial team was assisted by the HWLE tax team which was led by Partner Nima Sedaghat and Senior Associate Dhanushka Jayawardena.
AXA IM is the property arm of the broader AXA group, a French multinational insurance firm that engages in global insurance, investment management and other financial services. AXA IM has around AUD$1,295 billion worth of assets under management.
Note to Editors:
HWL Ebsworth is the largest legal partnership in Australia according to the most recent partnership surveys published by The Australian and the Australian Financial Review.
The firm comprises 1,481 staff including: 269 Partners, 843 other legal staff and 369 support staff across offices in nine locations – Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, Melbourne, Hobart, Norwest (North West Sydney), Perth and Sydney.
HWL Ebsworth is an independent, nationally integrated, full service commercial law firm, providing tailored and commercially oriented legal services.
HWL Ebsworth operates a different business model to the other leading national law practices, and this allows us to offer unrivalled value for money without compromising quality and service. Our low ratio of solicitors to partners ensures that our clients receive optimal access to partner resources for all matters.
For further information, please contact:
Russell Mailler, National Marketing Manager (03) 8644 3569 or rmailler@hwle.com.au