Living sector to take off as Kio shoots for $1bn of projects
The country’s build-to-rent sector is poised to go through a second wave of growth, according to the newly launched Kio Investment Management operation.
The company, founded by Hines alumnus Sam Bisla, has kicked off an ambitious range of projects that will see it complete developments with an end value of about $1bn.
Kio, with the backing of international private equity group Warburg Pincus, has secured a number of sites in capital cities, with its operations to span both traditional build-to-rent and studio-living projects.
The new group is moving at a time when some early entrants into the build-to-rent market are digesting the ructions in the construction market and the costs and delays incurred in getting sites up in Australia. Kio’s move into the market in 2024 has allowed it to secure sites with limited competition.
“We successfully raised capital in 2024 and have been deploying over the past year,” Mr Bisla said. “We’ve been pretty successful in securing prime build-to-rent sites, and have also moved into the studio-living sector, securing these assets too.”
Mr Bisla would not elaborate on the identity of its backers but said that the firm managed capital for a significant capital partner. “They have certain strategies that they’re implementing in Australia and are heavily focused on the living space,” he said.
Artists impression of approved plans for a Kio development in South Yarra, Melbourne. Picture: Supplied
In a separate play, Warburg Pincus last year entered the hot private creditor sector as banks pulled back from lending to property developers. It committed $490m, via its Warburg Pincus Asia Real Estate Fund, to the $1bn real estate credit vehicle unveiled by the listed MA Financial in 2024.
Warburg Pincus has a network in Australia via investments in companies including warehouse giant ESR and self-storage company StorHub, as well as through holdings in joint ventures, including supporting a Hale Capital Partners fund focused on last-mile logistics real estate.
Before founding Kio, Mr Bisla was head of living at Hines, where he set up the team and platform that spanned three sites in Melbourne and two in Brisbane.
Kio intends to pursue high conviction scalable real asset strategies in areas that it believes will outperform.
The projects so far include a build-to-rent complex in Melbourne’s up-market South Yarra and a studio-living development in Sydney’s inner-city Redfern, with build-to-rent projects to come in Sydney and Brisbane.
The build-to-rent sector is expected to undergo a period of consolidation, with large players buying up sites with approvals for the specialist projects and managers taking on existing projects.
Homegrown property funds manager Local last month vaulted to the top ranks of the build-to-rent scene, picking up the management of the massive Smith Collective site on the Gold Coast.
