Helping Precinct Properties To Next Stage

Chapman Tripp is pleased to have assisted Precinct Properties New Zealand (NZX: PCT) to achieve a ground-changing strategic partnership with Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC.

The agreement commits GIC to acquiring 75.1% of an initial portfolio of fully-developed property assets from Precinct, with the potential to grow the portfolio to around $1b. Chapman Tripp has advised Precinct on all aspects of the limited partnership structure, corporate, property, finance and tax law aspects.

The Chapman Tripp team was led by partners Roger Wallis and Matthew Carroll on the corporate and property aspects of the transaction, with specialist support from Chapman Tripp’s Finance and Tax teams, led by Cathryn Barber and Graeme Olding.

Precinct CEO Scott Pritchard said, “Establishing a collaborative and committed partnership with a global investor of GIC’s scale and quality represents a strategic step forward for our business, which provides access to capital and will supports Precinct’s future growth strategy, further enhancing shareholder returns”.

Precinct will be the investment manager under a market fee arrangement. The GIC partnership reflects a next stage after the internalisation of Precinct last year, which Chapman Tripp also acted on.

Roger Wallis said it had been satisfying to help the Precinct team execute another transformative project for the business.

The transaction is expected to complete later this year. Bell Gully acted for GIC. The wider Chapman Tripp team included Special Counsel Andrea Shepherd and Greer Fredricson, Senior Associates Edwina Ma and Hayden Reyngoud, and Senior Solicitor Liam Stoneley.

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