Legal & General has acquired a 75% stake in London-based Proprium Capital Partners, a $3.5bn real estate-focussed private equity firm, as part of the group’s continued strategic push in to private markets.
The investment, for an undisclosed sum, is designed to accelerate L&G’s strategic ambitions in key growth markets across Europe and the APAC region, according to a press statement.
As part of the acquisition, London-based L&G will commit up to $300mn of capital to invest in Proprium’s future fund strategies.
Under the leadership of Antonio Simoes, who took over as L&G CEO last year, asset management has become the cornerstone of L&G’s growth strategy and building scale in private markets globally is key to those ambitions.
With a target to grow its private markets platform to £85bn AUM by 2028, from around £50bn currently, L&G is targeting opportunities in real estate, infrastructure, private credit and venture capital, while strategically expanding into new global markets.
Founded in 2013, Proprium is a spin-out of the Morgan Stanley Real Estate Special Situations team, which focuses on investing in real estate operating companies with scalable investment themes and experienced management teams.
Proprium is active across residential, student accommodation, hospitality, and logistics sectors, with past investments including stakes in Motel One. Proprium’s current investments include A&O hostels in Germany and Admiral Taverns in the UK Around 60% of its investment portfolio is in Europe.
Over the past 18 months, Proprium has sold more than $1.8bn of assets, acquired $1.6bn of assets, distributed more than $800m to investors and secured over $600m in equity commitments.
Eric Adler, CEO, Asset Management, L&G said: “Recognising that international scale in private markets is key to delivering against L&G’s growth strategy, this strategic investment in Proprium will expand our geographical footprint, deepen our capabilities, broaden our investment strategies, and diversify our product offering.”
Bill Hughes, Global Head of Private Markets at L&G, said: “In the last 12 months we have significantly accelerated the growth of our Private Markets platform, laying the foundations for achieving our ambitious target of £85bn by 2028.”
The transaction is expected to close by Q4 2025, subject to regulatory and anti-trust approvals.
