BOSTON–Legal & General (‘L&G’) announced its strategic investment in Boston-based, global real estate private equity firm, Taurus Investment Holdings, LLC (‘Taurus’), alongside an initial commitment of up to $200 million in seed capital to multifamily, a key growth market that continues to be one of the strongest performing real estate sectors in the US.
This long-term partnership further deepens L&G’s Private Markets capabilities in the region, whilst addressing investor demand for real estate equity exposure. At its Capital Markets Event in June, L&G said it aimed to expand its global Private Markets platform to £85bn ($112bn) AUM by 2028.
Taurus has leading expertise in the acquisition, development, financing, leasing, and selling of multifamily and industrial real estate assets across the US, and select global markets including Germany and the UK, totalling more than $11 billion in value to date. Taurus has a demonstrated track-record of implementing value-add investment strategies, including decarbonisation solutions such as deep energy retrofit and geothermal networks.
Supported by structural increases in demand and robust historical performance, multifamily and industrial have grown to account for 63% of institutional real estate portfolios, up from 34% in 2000, and are the two strongest performing core sectors in the US over the last 20-years3. Both sectors are underpinned by compelling macro trends, which should contribute to attractive long-term rental growth prospects and potential strong relative performance into the future.
Representing a key strategic market for the Group, L&G launched its US asset management business4 in 2006 and has since built a long-standing track-record with $231.9bn5 of assets under management across public and private markets. Its current team of 275 support institutional clients across a range of strategies including private credit, real estate, and infrastructure.
This strategic partnership with Taurus accelerates L&G’s ambitions in the region, adding real estate equity capability in multifamily and industrial, and enhances its established development proposition in US real estate via its joint venture with Ancora – a US real estate developer committed to driving science and technology growth.
With access to Taurus’ team and strong track record, L&G stands ready to meet significant investor demand for US real estate equity exposure both for its own balance sheet and third-party clients. This transaction delivers on L&G’s strategic vision to build out a full-scale US real estate investment management capability.
António Simões, Group Chief Executive Officer, Legal & General, said: “Asset Management is the cornerstone of our growth strategy, and scale in private markets globally is key to those ambitions. We believe, our partnership with Taurus will accelerate our progress, deepening our capabilities in US real estate so that our shareholders and clients can seek to benefit from access to a fast growing, attractive market. Our strategic investment and additional commitment of up to $200m in seed capital reflects our belief in the strength of our combined offer, and the potential growth prospects ahead.”
Added Alexia Gottschalch, Head of US Real Estate Equity, Private Markets, L&G Asset Management: “As one of the largest real estate markets in the world, the US represents a significant growth opportunity for Legal & General. Our partnership with Taurus accelerates our ability to capitalise on this market and significantly scale our expertise and execution capabilities. Alongside Taurus, we can now seek to deliver large scale projects that address the increasing demand for quality housing and logistics infrastructure, with a focus on sustainability and innovative financing solutions. Having joined L&G to build out our real estate investment management business, this marks an exciting moment in the growth for our Private Markets platform and US real estate ambitions. Benefitting from a highly experienced real estate team in the UK and US, alongside access to patient catalytic capital, we believe we are well placed to deliver against the longer-term structural trends in the US.”
Peter A. Merrigan, Chief Executive Officer, Taurus, said: “Taurus is pleased to enter this partnership with Legal & General which enhances and expands their access to US real estate markets, while providing Taurus with an injection of capital from an impressive, long-standing financial services group and global investor. Remaining focused on our investment strategies in today’s evolving real estate market is key and this partnership presents an exciting opportunity to invest in high-quality real estate assets at scale. Taking a responsible approach, we aim to deliver long-term value for our stakeholders.”
