Valad adds value to property

When real estate veteran Stephen Day left Australian property company Lend Lease in 1995, he formed Valad - a group that would not merely own and manage property, but also aggressively add value to its assets and investment vehicles.

Together with fellow Executive Director Peter Hurley, Day oversees a multi-disciplined diversified group with over A$20 billion ($19.35 billion) in assets under management in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the United Kingdom.

"Everything we are doing is about extracting additional value either through leasing, refurbishing or repositioning," said Day. "We explore every option in order to find an extra way to create revenue. Once we find a point where we feel that we have optimized the value, that's when we are happy to pass the asset on to somebody else."

That strategy, to "value-add," from which the company derives its name, has paid off incredibly well for Valad and its stakeholders.

"If you invested in every one of our fund vehicles since 1995, you would have received a 26 percent internal rate of return post all fund fees and expenses," said Day.

"We focus on total return funds that deliver attractive investor returns within the mandated risk parameters," he added.

With a diversified business platform that includes property ownership, development and trading, funds management and capital services, Valad is able to effectively manage and grow its earnings.

The group is headquartered in Sydney, Australia, and has 24 offices throughout the Asia-Pacific Region and Europe, enabling Valad to concentrate on markets that offer the best returns.

www.valad.com.au

(China Daily 08/07/2008 page39)