Northern Freight Precinct in Beveridge, Victoria (Image: C Capital)
C Capital, the private equity firm co-founded by former New World Development CEO Adrian Cheng, has acquired 507 hectares (1,253 acres) of land near Melbourne for industrial projects with an expected end value of A$4.5 billion ($3.2 billion).
The land within the state of Victoria’s Northern Freight Precinct in Beveridge is to be developed in partnership with Australian property giant Lendlease, according to a Tuesday announcement. The deal marks the largest transaction to date for C Capital, which was launched in 2017 as C Ventures by the scion of the billionaire Cheng family behind Hong Kong’s New World and Chow Tai Fook.
C Capital’s parent group, Swiss-listed Youngtimers AG, last year acquired Sydney-based Richmond Funds Management (now C Capital Australia) in a bid to expand Down Under. The latest investment reflects long-term conviction in Australia as a core market under the firm’s pan-Asia strategy, said C Capital CEO Ben Cheng (no known relation).
“As we continue to build a diversified private markets platform, we are focused on deploying patient capital into assets aligned with long-term economic and infrastructure growth,” said Cheng, a former investment banker at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “Partnering with experienced local operators such as Lendlease is central to how we scale our presence and create sustainable value over time.”
Inland Rail Connection
Located 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of central Melbourne, the development site lies on the southern boundary of the planned Beveridge Intermodal Freight Terminal, a key connection to Australia’s future Inland Rail freight line.
C Capital co-founder Adrian Cheng formerly helmed New World Development
Precise details about the development plans weren’t provided, but the companies pointed to a mix of logistics, industrial and data centre projects. As master development partner, Lendlease will advise C Capital through the rezoning and infrastructure enablement phase, the ASX-listed group said in a separate statement.
Ongoing demand for industrial and logistics sites in Victoria, along with forecast low vacancy rates, underscores the need for new, well-located industrial and logistics assets, according to Lendlease development CEO Tom Mackellar.
“Our development partnership with C Capital provides optionality to grow our development pipeline with logistics, industrial and data centre assets, as we continue to build upon our existing Australian pipeline spanning luxury residential, sustainable office, build-to-rent and mixed-use precincts,” Mackellar said.
Swiss Pivot
Operating out of Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Sydney and Zurich, C Capital has more than $900 million in assets under management, primarily in Asia Pacific-related investments.
After starting life as C Ventures with a focus on early-stage tech and new economy sectors, the firm rebranded in 2022 with a broader strategy including private equity, private credit and special situations.
Switzerland’s Youngtimers acquired C Capital in November 2024 in order to bring Asia opportunities closer to European investors. The combined firm focuses on private equity and small/mid-cap listed equities in developed East Asia and selectively in Europe.
The merger with Youngtimers was completed less than two months after Adrian Cheng stepped down as chief executive of New World Development after the HKEX-listed builder posted its first full-year loss in two decades.
Leave a Reply