Houlihan Lokey Advises Tokyo Gas Real Estate

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Tokyo Gas Real Estate has acquired Spring Investment, a real estate asset and fund management company that handles all major Japanese real estate asset classes, such as office, retail, residential spaces, and hotels, with capabilities to structure and execute a full range of investment strategies, including core, core-plus, value-add, opportunistic, development, and distressed opportunities. The transaction closed on March 31, 2023.

Tokyo Gas is engaged in the production, supply, and sale of city gas in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Tokyo Gas Real Estate, a subsidiary of Tokyo Gas Group, is the real estate arm of the Tokyo Gas Group and focuses on real estate leasing, operations, and management. The company's annual sales total approximately ¥43 billion with a net profit of approximately ¥9 billion.

Spring Investment provides a wide range of services, including general consultation, sourcing, due diligence, underwriting, structuring, financing support, and implementing value-add and disposition strategies. Spring Investment was established in 1998 and is recognized as a reputable independent asset/fund management company with one of the longest track records in Japan. Its extensive experience and comprehensive licenses under the Japanese Financial Instruments and Exchange Law, and the Building Lots and Buildings Transaction Business Act of Japan, enable Spring Investment to propose a diverse range of alternative investment structures, including cross-border transactions.

The Tokyo Gas Group positions its real estate arm as one of its core businesses and aims to enter and expand into the real estate fund management sector in order to realize a long-term commitment to achieve CO2 net zero, grow its real estate business, and maintain and improve asset efficiency.

By acquiring Spring Investment, Tokyo Gas Real Estate will further accelerate and strengthen its entry and growth strategies in an area where it is targeting future growth.

Houlihan Lokey acted as lead financial advisor to Tokyo Gas Real Estate.