KingSett Capital and University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP) have launched a strategic partnership to invest in industrial real estate assets across Canada’s major urban markets. 

The partnership will focus on acquiring multi-tenant, light industrial buildings in supply-constrained markets, taking a selective approach to assets where active management can enhance long-term value creation.

Both KingSett and UPP declined RENX’s interview requests, but UPP senior managing director and head of private markets Peter Martin Larsen provided this quote about the partnership in an email: “As we continue to expand our portfolio in a disciplined and selective way, our partnership with KingSett Capital reflects UPP’s focus on building real estate exposure with inflation-hedging, income-generating investments with market leading partners. 

“This aligns with our broader private markets strategy of building long-term partnerships that provide deep sector expertise and access to opportunities that support stable, long-term returns for our members.”

No information about the amount of the investment, nor the scope of the fund, has been released.

The partnership is the first of its kind for KingSett and builds on UPP’s targeted exposure to industrial real estate, further diversifying its portfolio while increasing allocations to income-generating assets.

KingSett’s role in the partnership

KingSett is a private equity real estate investment firm that was founded in 2002 and now has more than $19 billion of assets under management and more than 170 employees in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. The company’s total transaction volume involving industrial assets exceeds $13 billion over the past 24 years.

“The Canadian industrial sector is at an inflection point: Investors, developers and tenants are adjusting to an evolving trade relationship with the U.S., new supply chains, and the need to improve efficiencies to remain competitive in this environment,” KingSett chief executive officer Rob Kumar said in a media release. 

“KingSett is well positioned to leverage our relationships, scale and platform to navigate this environment and build a portfolio of industrial properties designed to deliver sustainable premium risk-weighted returns for UPP.

“This partnership, which complements the balance of our existing fund strategies, marks an important milestone for KingSett. We are introducing a highly customized investment solution that is designed to meet the specific needs and objectives of an institutional investor like UPP. 

“We are aiming to expand on this type of program as an important differentiator for our investor-partners and as a driver of growth for KingSett in the years to come.”

UPP and its real estate investments

UPP is a jointly sponsored defined benefit pension open to all Ontario university sector employers and employees. It managed $12.8 billion in pension assets at the end of 2024 and serves more than 46,000 members across six universities and 19 sector organizations.

Among UPP’s real estate investments are:

• the Greystar Equity Partners Europe II Fund, managed by residential real estate operator Greystar, which has expertise in multifamily and student housing in Europe;
• the Real Estate Gateway Fund, which is managed by Schroders Capital and invests in industrial assets in the Netherlands;
• a joint venture with WPT Capital Advisors, a U.S.-based industrial real estate specialist that provides access to warehouse and logistics properties across major American supply chain and distribution markets;
• a co-investment in a 420-unit purpose-built rental apartment in North Vancouver;
• and a fund focused on the ground-up development and long-term ownership of purpose-built rental properties across core urban locations in major Canadian markets.