Aberdeen Buys Two Tokyo Apartment Complexes Under Japan Living Strategy

Aberdeen Investments has acquired two rental residential properties in Tokyo for an undisclosed price under the Scottish asset manager’s Japan living strategy.

The recently built apartment complexes are the 125-unit Worve Tokyo Kiba in Koto ward and the 71-unit Dimus Negishi in Taito ward, Aberdeen said Wednesday in a release. The Edinburgh-based firm said it seeks to leverage the increasing importance of rental growth in driving Japanese property yields, especially in Tokyo.

The new arrivals to the portfolio come after Aberdeen last October announced an expansion of its living business in Japan, having won a mandate from Dutch pension fund manager PGGM to manage a portfolio of 3,300 rental homes in the country.

“The Japanese market is an exciting, fast-growing addition to our global living business, which broke the €10 billion ($11.3 billion) assets under management milestone last year,” said Aberdeen living CEO Marc Pamin. “We are deeply committed to this market and continuously strengthening our investment capabilities to offer superior services and innovative investment solutions to both Japanese investors and those looking to invest in Japan.”

High Occupancy

Worve Tokyo Kiba, completed in November 2022, is a 12-storey building with units ranging from studios of 25 square metres (269 square feet) to one-bedroom (32-33 square metre) and two-bedroom (50 square metre) apartments, plus a small retail space. The property is aimed at single occupants and small families and was 95.8 percent leased as of January.

Dimus Negishi, finished in February 2024, is a seven-storey block with studios of 26 square metres and one- and two-bedroom apartments measuring 43 and 48 square metres, primarily targeting single occupants. The occupancy rate was 93.8 percent in January.

Residential rents in Tokyo’s 23 wards rose 7.3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025 as occupancy reached 96.8 percent, according to a Savills report, with the robust growth driven by constricted supply and steady demand.

“Vacancy rates have historically been tight, and trends underpinning residential leasing demand — such as net migration, improved wage growth, and increased female labour participation/dual-income households — are likely to endure,” said Harumi Kadono, head of Japan real estate at Aberdeen. “We believe this asset class offers an excellent opportunity for global investors seeking to diversify their portfolios while achieving superior long-term returns and stable income.”

Return to Profit, Vowel Use

Aberdeen manages £35 billion ($47.2 billion) in real estate assets and roughly 1,000 properties worldwide.

The LSE-listed firm swung to a pretax profit of £251 million in 2024 after recording a narrow loss of £6 million a year earlier. CEO Jason Windsor, freshly promoted from chief financial officer in September, gave credit to improved investment flows and a “strengthened and streamlined” leadership team with a sharper focus.

The group also cancelled its much-lampooned Abrdn branding and reverted to the Aberdeen name for the purpose of “removing distractions”, according to Windsor.