Fund manager Gaw Capital Partners has acquired an 11-storey mall in Tokyo’s prime Ginza district under a joint venture with Patience Capital Group, with market sources who spoke to Mingtiandi on Friday confirming a deal value of $1 billion.
Hong Kong’s Gaw holds a 91 percent stake in the JV for Tokyu Plaza Ginza, with Singapore-based Patience owning a 9 percent share. Market sources named Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Panasonic Finance as the seller of the property, which spans 50,093 square metres (539,197 square feet) of gross floor area and connects to Ginza station of the Tokyo Metro.
Privately held Gaw is taking over the management and leasing of Tokyu Plaza Ginza and plans to transform the 2016-vintage mall into a “vibrant” retail destination. Patience, a Japan-focused private equity firm led by former GIC executive Ken Chan, will help refresh the tenant mix.
“By combining Patience Capital Group’s ability to source unique opportunities and Gaw Capital’s extensive retail experience, we are confident in our ability to reposition the mall as a premier retail destination,” said Isabella Lo, managing director and head of Japan at Gaw. “With favourable macroeconomic fundamentals supporting Japan’s retail sector, this is a highly opportune time to invest.”
Set at the heart of one of Asia’s most prestigious shopping districts, Tokyu Plaza Ginza occupies an entire block with four-sided frontage. Gaw expects a further value boost from the conversion of the adjacent Tokyo Expressway into a pedestrian walkway, a project scheduled to partly open in 2029.
The mall buy, which values the property at $19,963 per square metre of gross floor area at the reported consideration, is the largest-ever Japan investment made by Gaw, which manages $4.7 billion in assets in the country. The deal comes as part of a flurry of activity by the family-controlled firm to start the Year of the Snake.
