South Korean Investor Add $700m to Scape’s War Chest

International investors are still betting on Australia’s property industry as a new flush of funding for Australian student accommodation provider Scape washes through. 

South Korea’s National Pension Service has agreed to a deal brokered during the December holiday break to provide Scape with $700 million. 

The follows a $300 million investment in the PBSA developer in 2020. 

The funding is for developing student accommodation in this country as well as Scape’s first foray into the build-to-rent sector in Sydney, the Rent-to-Live Co Marrickville project, pictured above.  

Scape plans to start work on that soon with 1000 apartments planned for the Marrickville Timberyards project. Demolition is scheduled for the 2.2ha site project in July, pending approval, ahead of a start to construction in 2026. 

Scape set up its build-to-rent platform Rent-to-Live Co in 2023 with support from the Dutch pension fund APG and real estate management firm Bouwinvest.

The developer wants to achieve 10,000 apartments developed by 2030 so there’s little doubt the investment is a welcome addition to the $425-million equity pool. 

It also points to the build–to-rent sector has become attractive to overseas investors as an established and stable asset class in Australia. 

The Federal Government late last year passed legislation to make the sector more open and attractive to such overseas investment.

The funding deal also means Scape will open a fourth overseas office, in Seoul, to join its presence in Beijing, Singapore and Hong Kong. 

According to media reports, Scape intends to use the funding to diversify and work on projects beyond the Marrickville development. 

▲ Coposit co-founders Daniel Ferris and Chris Ferris.

Meanwhile, an unnamed overseas investor has reportedly taken a minority stake in Sydney-based Coposit during the proptech’s $14-million fundraising that closed last month.

The capital round was upsized from $10 million due to the foreign interest and also attracted local industry group money, media reported.

The company works with developers to provide home buyers a means of securing homes with a $10,000 deposit off the plan and then allowing the rest of the deposit to be paid off as the project is completed. 

Local industry groups also invested in the seed round. 

Coposit charges the developers a fee for each project they list while there are no fees or charges levied on the homebuyer.  It was founded in 2021 and has added 100 projects with an estimated end value of $9 billion.