L&G Buying 75% Stake in Proprium to Boost Real Estate and Private Markets Business

British investment giant L&G has agreed to acquire a 75 percent stake in US fund manager Proprium Capital Partners in a bid to broaden the LSE-listed group’s geographic reach and real estate capabilities.

As part of the acquisition, L&G will commit up to $300 million in capital to support future fund strategies at Connecticut-based Proprium, whose investments include a pending A$365 million ($228 million) buy of Australian homebuilder AVJennings following a brief takeover battle this year with Singapore’s Ho Bee Land.

The deal is expected to speed L&G’s growth ambitions in private markets and unlock new geographies across Europe and Asia Pacific, the London-based group said Monday in a release. L&G, which has £1.1 trillion ($1.5 billion) in assets under management, aims to expand its private markets platform to £85 billion in AUM by 2028.

“Recognising that international scale in private markets is key to delivering against L&G’s growth strategy, this strategic investment in Proprium will expand our geographical footprint, deepen our capabilities, broaden our investment strategies, and diversify our product offering,” said L&G asset management CEO Eric Adler, who joined the group in December from US fund manager PGIM.

Opening New Doors

As part of the acquisition, Proprium’s management will maintain its leadership structure, teams and investment process while operating independently from a day-to-day perspective, according to Monday’s announcement. No further details were disclosed about the transaction, which is expected to close by the fourth quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory and antitrust approvals.

“On behalf of the Proprium team, we are incredibly excited about the partnership with L&G, their financial backing and growth ambitions,” said Proprium co-managing partners Tim Morris and Philipp Westermann. “Their investment opens new doors to international markets as L&G builds out its global real estate business, representing a significant milestone in the evolution of our platform at a time of immense opportunity.”

A 2013 spin-out from Morgan Stanley’s real estate special situations team, Proprium invests in the residential, student housing, hospitality and logistics sectors. The firm manages $3.5 billion in assets and currently invests in A&O Hostels in Germany, British pub chain Admiral Taverns and Australia’s Avid Property Group, partnering with the latter to buy out AVJennings.

In April, Proprium partner and Avid chairman Anthony Kingsley said the AVJennings takeover would enhance the firm’s portfolio with “highly complementary assets” from the ASX-listed developer’s 9,800-lot land bank.

Proprium acquired Sydney-based Avid nine years ago for A$340 million, back when the company was Investa Property Group’s Investa Land development division. Avid has delivered A$4.2 billion worth of projects and has a A$5 billion pipeline on a revenue basis.

APAC Acquisitions

Mingtiandi reported in February that Proprium’s Anton Real Estate Partners had joined forces with PGIM Real Estate to acquire a Sydney commercial building, 20 Bridge Street, from Hong Kong toy tycoon Francis Choi for A$270 million.

In Japan, Proprium teamed with Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company and Canadian giant Manulife in 2023 on a joint venture to assemble a multi-family portfolio worth up to JPY 80 billion (then $600 million).

In the last 18 months, Proprium has sold more than $1.8 billion in assets, acquired $1.6 billion in assets, distributed more than $800 million to investors and secured over $600 million in equity commitments, according to Monday’s announcement.

L&G’s real estate plays include last year’s acquisition of an equity stake in Boston-based property firm Taurus, which has invested in more than $11 billion in multi-family and industrial assets across the US and Europe.