Weave Buys Tokyo Apartments to Bring Portfolio in the City to 1,400 Units

Weave Living has made its fourth major Japan acquisition in one year, with the regional rental residential player picking up seven Tokyo properties to add around 300 units to its portfolio in the country, according to an announcement late last week.

In a statement on LinkedIn, Weave founder and group chief executive Sachin Doshi said that the projects, which were acquired under a forward purchase agreement, would add JPY 15 billion ($97.3 billion) in gross asset value to its holdings in the country once they are completed.

“This latest acquisition further accelerates our growth in Asia Pacific’s deepest rental housing market, taking our Japan assets under management to JPY 90 billion ($600 million) in under three years of opening our Tokyo office in early 2023,” Doshi said.

Weave did not disclose further financial details on the acquisition, however, Mingtiandi learned from market sources that the acquisition involves a capital partner which has not previously backed the firm’s ventures.

Portfolio in Progress

While the properties have yet to be completed, Weave indicated that the portfolio will be split between traditional multi-family units and long-stay furnished accommodation, as the company seeks to serve both long-term residents and locals, catering to the growing number of international professionals taking on roles in Japan.

Weave says that its 1,400 units in Tokyo are currently evenly split between the two property types as it serves domestic, expatriate and corporate tenants seeking simplified access to rental accommodation and the reassurance of working with an institutional landlord.

The news of this latest acquisition comes just over a month after Weave announced its purchase of an 11-asset portfolio in Tokyo valued at JPY 20 billion. While Weave did not disclose its partners in that transaction, market sources indicated that the purchase was the inaugural transaction under a fund which Weave established as its first domestic investment vehicle in Japan, according to a statement at the time.

In June, Weave teamed up with KKR to purchase six Tokyo properties, including assets in the Roppongi, Minami Azabu and Shirokane neighbourhoods of Tokyo’s posh Minato ward. Those acquisitions were an add-on to a rental residential investment vehicle which Weave established with KKR in November last year and brought that fund’s portfolio to 17 assets. 

Weave Living now owns and manages 52 assets across Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul and Sydney, the company indicated, with plans to expand that portfolio further.

“With significant committed dry powder across strategies and markets, we are on track to grow our regional assets under management to US$4 billion on a fully-invested basis, further pulling away as APAC’s only truly regional living sector powerhouse,” Doshi said. 

Breaking into the Majors

Counting Warburg Pincus as a major investor, Weave’s addition of a new partner to its network through this latest Tokyo acquisition underscores the company’s growing success in attracting new backing.

In addition to Warburg Pincus and KKR, Weave announced a $450 million Korean rental housing venture in October, with industry sources indicating to Mingtiandi that Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC is backing that vehicle in its inaugural cooperation with the rental accommodation investor and developer. 

During May this year Weave announced a $77 million acquisition of a Singapore apartment complex through a partnership with a BlackRock fund and local developer Lian Beng Group.