Warburg Pincus, Lendlease, CBRE to Share Life Science, R&D Insights at Tokyo Forum

Executives from Warburg Pincus, Lendlease, and CBRE are set to lay out the opportunities and challenges facing investors in Asia Pacific’s life science and R&D property markets in a spotlight interview session at Mingtiandi’s inaugural Tokyo Forum on 12 November.

With Warburg Pincus and Lendlease having identified Japan as a target market for their newly-established Asia Pacific life sciences joint venture and seeding the portfolio with Leaf Minatomirai, a Yokohama mall which was recently converted into an R&D workplace, the speakers will discuss the key drivers behind investors’ growing interest in the life science and R&D property sector.

The spotlight interview will feature Warburg Pincus principal, Tag Yuxiang along with Lendlease Japan chairman and executive director for development partnerships, Andrew Gauci, and with  life sciences and healthcare related property having ranked as the most sought after alternative real estate sector in Asia Pacific in CBRE’s 2024 APAC Investor Intentions Survey, the executives will be joined on stage by Shigeko Mizutani, a managing director with the property consultancy’s valuation advisory and consulting services division for Japan.

More than 200 representatives of top institutional investors have now confirmed their attendance for Mingtiandi’s Tokyo Forum and tickets for the event are still available at the link above. Mingtiandi members not able to join in person will be able to see portions of the programme streamed live on MTD TV.

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The Warburg Pincus-Lendlease life sciences JV reached final close in late July and made its first acquisition a few weeks later with the purchase of a S$1.6 billion ($1.2 billion) portfolio of business parks and R&D facilities in Singapore.

The JV was seeded with Lendlease’s APAC life sciences project construction management business as well as Leaf Minatomirai, which spans 24,206 square metres (260,551 square feet) of net lettable area. Lendlease and its co-investor in the project, Dutch pension fund manager PGGM, completed their conversion of the 2004-vintage retail property for R&D use in February.

In addition to its tie-up with Lendlease, Warburg Pincus in 2023 established a joint venture with Japanese real estate investment management firm EastGate to invest in life sciences and R&D real estate in Japan. That venture has since acquired the Technowave 100 office and data centre facility in the R&D hub of Yokohama, with plans to convert the property for life sciences and R&D use.

Increasing healthcare spending by Japan’s rapidly ageing population, coupled with strong growth in the country’s medical device and pharmaceutical markets, are driving demand for high-quality, specialised space for life sciences and R&D at the same time that dedicated R&D facilities have seen limited supply expansion. The favourable supply-demand dynamics have resulted in rental premiums of as much as 30 percent over traditional office space, according to EastGate.

35 Industry Leaders, Over 200 Attendees

Yuxiang, Gauci and Mizutani join the roster of over 35 industry leaders who will speak at the full-day event at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Tokyo, including executives from Norges Bank, KKR, UBS, L Catterton Real Estate, and ESR.

In addition to the interview with Warburg Pincus, Lendlease and CBRE, the forum features spotlight sessions with ESR co-founder Stuart Gibson, GLP Capital Partners Japan president, Yoshiyuki Chosa and three senior partners from advisory firm Deloitte Tohmatsu.

With the event now just over one week away, more than 200 industry professionals have confirmed their attendance for the forum, including professionals from Mitsubishi Estate, Mitsui & Co, Sumitomo Corporate Group, Mori Building and Japan Hotel REIT.