Keppel Education Fund Picks Up Sydney University Campus for $43M

Keppel Ltd has acquired a university campus in North Sydney for A$65.5 million ($43.2 million) as the Singaporean asset manager pursues value-add bets on education-related facilities.

The Temasek-backed firm picked up the Charles Sturt University campus from local developer Winten Property Group on behalf of the private Keppel Education Asset Fund I. Situated at 77 Berry Street near Victoria Cross rail station, the property is a seven-storey office building on a 10-year lease to the multi-campus regional university after opening last year.

KEAF I had also acquired a pair of school campuses in Sydney in 2023 for a total of A$198 million (then $125 million) as the vehicle’s first assets Down Under. The latest deal comes less than two months after the fund’s successor, KEAF II, entered into a partnership with New Zealand’s Precinct Properties Group to purchase an 80 percent stake in a student housing project under development in Auckland with an end value of NZ$290 million ($173 million).

“Keppel’s flagship Education Asset Fund series continues to make strategic investments in education-related assets across Asia Pacific,” a Keppel representative told Mingtiandi. “As part of this, Keppel Education Asset Fund I is strengthening its portfolio with the acquisition of the Charles Sturt University campus in North Sydney, Australia.”

Neighbourhood Revival

Sydney-based Winten purchased 77 Berry Street in 2016 as part of a plan to re-invigorate the neighbourhood and improve walkability, according to a LinkedIn post by Winten chief operating officer Stuart Vaughan at the time of the campus opening in July 2024. Keppel’s interest in buying the refurbished asset was first reported in June of this year by The Australian.

The Singaporean firm’s purchase price translates to A$11,415 ($7,527) per square metre for the building’s fully leased 5,738 square metres (61,763 square feet). Charles Sturt’s first metro campus adjoins another Winten renovation project, the 39-storey Berry Square office tower.

The Keppel Education Asset Fund series focuses on investments in education-related assets and facilities, supporting early learning, K-12, higher education, tertiary education and student accommodation, with a focus on the Asia Pacific region.

Keppel announced last month that it had secured $500 million for KEAF II from one of Europe’s largest pension funds. The news followed Keppel’s April notice of a first closing for the education vehicle, with the firm having raised more than $800 million in capital for the strategy.

Continuing Education

Keppel’s latest investment in Australian educational real estate follows a pair of acquisitions made in 2024 by fellow Singapore fund manager Cambridge RE Partners.

Mingtiandi reported in April of last year that Cambridge had bought the Hastings Village purpose-built student housing asset next to the Port Macquarie campus of Charles Sturt University from a local developer for A$116 million (then $75.5 million).

The acquisition in the coastal city 400 kilometres (249 miles) north of Sydney came after Cambridge had in late January acquired a classroom educational facility in Sydney’s Waterloo suburb for A$87 million, bringing the firm’s commitments to the sector to more than A$200 million in three months.