L&G expands Private Markets platform with 75% stake in real estate investor Proprium to accelerate growth into new markets

• L&G enhances real estate capabilities with the strategic acquisition of Proprium Capital Partners (“Proprium”), a $3.5bn AUM¹ global real estate private equity firm.
• Investment to accelerate L&G’s strategic ambitions in key growth markets across Europe and APAC.
• As part of the acquisition, L&G will commit up to $300mn of capital to support Proprium’s future fund strategies. 

L&G announces an agreement to acquire a 75% stake in the global real estate investor, Proprium, in a move which brings together the complementary capabilities of the two businesses, and accelerates L&G’s private markets growth ambitions, broadening the real estate capabilities of the firm and unlocking new geographies.

L&G is one of Europe’s largest asset managers and a leading real estate owner and manager in the UK², with a growing platform in the US. Asset Management is the cornerstone of L&G’s growth strategy and building scale in private markets globally is key to those ambitions. With a target to grow its Private Markets platform to £85bn AUM by 2028, L&G is focused on maximising opportunities within real estate, infrastructure, private credit, and venture capital, while strategically expanding into new global markets.

Founded in 2013, Proprium is a spin-out of the Morgan Stanley Real Estate Special Situations team, which focuses on investing in real estate operating companies with scalable investment themes and experienced management teams. Proprium's strategy of platform investing³ seeks to deliver private equity returns in the real estate industry. 

Proprium is active across residential, student accommodation, hospitality, and logistics sectors, with past investments including stakes in Motel One. Proprium’s current investments include a&o hostels in Germany, Admiral Taverns in the UK, and Avid in Australia.  In the last 18 months, Proprium has sold more than $1.8 bn of assets; acquired $1.6 bn of assets, including the recently announced public to private of AVJennings; and has distributed more than $800mn to investors and secured over $600 mn in equity commitments.

The US, continental Europe and select APAC markets represent key strategic growth areas for L&G’s Private Markets platform. These regions offer diversification* for clients as well as expanding the investment opportunities in subsectors benefiting from structural trends such as demographic change and deglobalisation. For clients seeking capital growth in an environment of elevated interest rates and heightened structural risks, value-add strategies in these sectors – focused on active management and operational excellence – can sit in a compelling position within the risk-return spectrum.

With c.60% of Proprium’s portfolio in Europe and a market presence in APAC, L&G will benefit from its track record to accelerate its ambitions in these regions.

L&G’s current real estate portfolio amounts to c.£22bn AUM, ranging from large scale regeneration projects, industrial property, and urban logistics to a diverse residential platform of affordable housing, build to rent, and student accommodation.  In October last year, L&G announced its equity stake in US based real estate investor Taurus, targeting high growth real estate sectors in the US and deepening L&G’s Private Market capabilities in the region.

As part of the acquisition, Proprium’s management team will continue to operate independently from an operational, day-to-day perspective, maintaining its current leadership structure, teams and investment process, all of which will be enhanced by working as part of the wider L&G Private Markets platform.  

This transaction is expected to close by Q4 2025, subject to regulatory and anti-trust approvals.

References

¹As of 31 December 2024.

²IPE Real Assets Top 150 Real Estate Investment Managers data, December 2024.

³In private equity, platform investing involves a fund acquiring a company (the "platform company") with the intention of growing it by acquiring other businesses in the same industry ("add-ons").

* It should be noted that diversification is no guarantee against a loss in a declining market.