LaSalle, Tokyo Tatemono team up on roadside retail properties

Tokyo Tatemono has an article on their website detailing a deal composed of roadside retail properties formerly owned by cigarrettes-food-and-drinks conglomerate Japan Tobacco (JT), for which the main investor was LaSalle Investment Management.

The fact that gaishikei investors are now moving towards these types of small, regional, and hitherto ignored asset classes highlights the reality that while there is so much capital sloshing around looking for stuff to buy in Japan, "institutional quality" assets are now few and far between, prompting some to move beyond traditional Tokyo- and office- centered strategies.

Excerpt: "In March 2005, Tokyo Tatemono Real Estate Sales Co., Ltd. , and LaSalle Investment Management, Inc. acquired 19 income properties around Japan, valued at a total of several billion yen, from Japan Tobacco, Inc. through an SPC established jointly by TTRES and LaSalle.
This joint project is well suited to the aims of LaSalle, which seeks outstanding properties on the Japanese market... Tokyo Tatemono and LaSalle will jointly handle the asset management of the project, while TTRES will handle the property management..." Continue reading via Tokyo Tatemono Market Reports

Japan Real Estate / Property Investment Blog