CapitaLand Investment grows Aus presence with Wingate takeover

Global real assets manager, CapitaLand Investment (CLI), has announced its strategic acquisition of Wingate Group’s property and corporate credit investment management business, which is expected to grow its Australian funds under management (FUM) by over 30 per cent.

Subject to completion adjustments, the deal is expected to be worth up to AUD$200 million, given Wingate currently has approximately AUD$2.5 billion in FUM and has a historical track record of 350 real estate transactions valued at more than AUD$20 billion.

CLI indicated that the acquisition of Wingate would allow it to broaden its private credit arm and portfolio in Australia, particularly in “extensive proprietary deal origination networks, s access to more institutional and private high net worth investors and increasing CLI’s geographical exposure to Australia”.

The deal follows after CLI founded the Australia Credit Program (ACP) with Wingate, closing the fund after it reached AUD$265 million. The company also said the acquisition comes at a time of rapid growth for Australia’s private credit market, after 2024 research found the market had expanded by 33 per cent in the past 18 months to AUD$139 billion in assets under management (AUM).

“We are excited to welcome Wingate into CLI’s global ecosystem. The senior team, led by Wingate’s Founder Mr Farrel Meltzer, has built Wingate into a leading Australian credit platform. It has an outstanding track record, and is ideally positioned for growth by leveraging its extensive relationships with developers and corporates across Australia,” Paul Tham, Group Chief Financial Officer at CLI, said.

“We thank Farrel for his stewardship and vision in growing Wingate over the last 20 years. Wingate’s private credit capabilities complement CLI’s own private funds platform, and will enable us to collaborate to create greater value for our capital partners in Australia and beyond. We see scalable private credit opportunities in other Asia Pacific markets, most notably in South Korea, India and Japan.

“As we accelerate our geographical diversification efforts, Australia is one of CLI’s focus markets where we see significant potential for growth. Australia will play a greater role in contributing to CLI’s FUM as we strive towards our S$200 billion FUM target in 2028. CLI has committed to invest up to A$1 billion (about S$878 million) to grow our FUM in the country.

“As we strengthen our position as a leading global real asset manager, we will continue to seek opportunities to scale our Australian presence through our listed funds, private funds as well as our commercial and lodging management businesses to drive fee income growth for CLI.”

CLI emphasised that Wingate’s “local identity” will continue to be “preserved”, as the business will continue to operate from Australia under its existing management.

“Wingate is a private credit pioneer in Australia focused on fostering long-term partnerships, carefully managing risks and delivering sustainable returns. We have built a best-in-class property and client-centric corporate credit platform in the country since it was founded by Farrel Meltzer 20 years ago,” Nick Jacobson, appointed Wingate’s Managing Director, said.

“We are delighted to work with CLI to provide our co-investors and borrowers with enhanced access to highly attractive investment opportunities across CLI’s global platform. The growth of Wingate with the backing of CLI is a truly industry-transforming prospect for what can be delivered to local and global institutional investors.

“The combination of Wingate and CLI will further strengthen Wingate’s market standing as a leader in Australian real estate private credit and to becoming the fund manager of choice for institutional investors seeking exposure to the stable and attractive Australian real estate sector.”