Macquarie flagship property fund goes global

Macquarie has released the first annual growth figures for its flagship property fund, the Macquarie Direct Property Fund (MDPF), along with a number of fund enhancements including the addition of global property assets.

The MDPF provided annualised returns of 29 per cent for the year ending December 31, 2006, outperforming the office sub-index of the Mercer Unlisted Property Index by 9 per cent.

Richard Stacker, fund manager of MDPF, attributed this to an upswinging office market, high occupancy, increasing effective rents and rising property prices.

While stating his belief that the Australian domestic property market would continue to perform strongly, Stacker said the decision to expand the fund’s global property exposure was taken because “it is opportunities abroad that we believe have the strongest growth potential in the medium term”.

In the last quarter of 2006, the Macquarie added direct property funds in China, Hong, Kong and Europe to the MDPF portfolio, along with the MFS 200 Queen Street Melbourne Trust.

“We seek to access this [global] pipeline to benefit our investors, and securing investments of this grade in our first year positions us well to take advantage of the predicted growth in these markets,” Stacker said.

In China, the fund made a $25.6 million investment into a $665 million joint venture-managed retail fund with nine initial properties.

A $20.1 million investment was also made into the $1.1 billion Macquarie Goodman Hong Kong Wholesale Fund, which comprises 10 industrial assets.

The MDPF’s push into the European market saw a $21.8 million investment in the $1.6 billion Arlington European Logistics Fund, which is managed by a wholly owned subsidiary of Macquarie Goodman.

Stacker said the fund’s goal is to deliver regular cash flow with the potential for capital growth.

He added that it is “drawing on Macquarie’s international experience and expertise [by exploring] the Macquarie global property pipeline, which potentially sources high performing investments that are usually inaccessible to retail investors”.